Archives: Personal

I realized at our last meeting of Ukuleles of Paradise that a lot of folks have only a minimal knowledge of Hawaiian music. It’s just not something they’re familiar with or have heard much (if at all!). To help remedy that, I’ve written a very brief primer on the topic, “Learning About Hawaiian Music” and […]

I like carrying my Gator ukulele case for my LoPrinzi soprano when traveling because the case is sturdy and it’s not at risk of being crushed when stored in the carry-on overhead bins on planes. The downside of the Gator, though, is that it’s made as a “handle-only” case, with just a single place to […]

It was an afternoon of new strums, arpeggio patterns and plenty of learning when Herb Ohta, Jr. and Daniel Ho presented two ukulele workshops in Sacramento on January 21. The workshop, arranged by Hawaii’s Music Live (415/452-8720), drew folks from as far as the Bay Area and Grass Valley (as well as me, from two hours away in Paradise!).

The beginner course focused on the very basics of ukulele and quickly ramped up to a variety of more complex strums. The workshop’s song for the day was “Pineapple Mango” from the duo’s new CD, Ukuleles in Paradise 2. We played the chord progressions for that song, sampled its tablature (the first time some of the folks had ever *seen* tablature) and were the “back up” for Herb and Daniel as they played the song with improvising and flourishes.