Recently on a Stuff blog one little instrument was labelled as being "ruined by a fad". Its recent resurgence in popularity has had the Hawaiian little brother of the guitar come under attack, with the music played on it criticised as dumbed-down and insulting. I would like to take this opportunity to defend this innocuous but delightful little instrument, and go some way in explaining why the seemingly unstoppable demand for the 'jumping flea' is a good thing.
While there is no denying that it seems every single song in the history of music ever has its own ukulele cover, this can also be said for many other instruments. You can just as easily find covers of popular songs played on the acoustic, the bass, drums, string quartets, full orchestras, and even hundred-strong choral interpretations. A song does not simply have to be imitated to be appreciated, but can be reinterpreted to bring a new atmosphere to the music. While some may see that as a watering-down of the music, I prefer to think of it as an added value that you otherwise would not have found. Sure the ukulele cannot bring the sweeping epic bliss of a Sigur Rós song truly to life, but it can add its own quiet fortitude to something like Hoppipolla, and you'd be surprised by just how much grinding metal can be gleaned from an electric ukulele putting Slayer's Angel of Death through its paces.
Are covers played by people in their bedrooms all over the world less legitimate than, say, an album the aforementioned blog claims will not help the ukulele go beyond "novelty value"? Eddie Vedder's relatively recent release Ukulele Songs came out of left field for a lot of Vedder fans, and its reception was fairly average to say the least. The main criticisms seemed to focus on the restriction that comes from playing the ukulele, and perceived that as a lack of depth in Vedder's songwriting.
Eddie Vedder's album Ukulele Songs has received a mixed back from critics.
However it seems that the subtle nuances that can be achieved with the ukulele, and the often bittersweet sound it is capable of, are often overlooked by critics who confuse light-heartedness with childishness. Yes using one instrument is going to be restrictive in its scope, but that should be no surprise when the record is called Ukulele Songs. What difference is there between that any other form of acoustic album. Is simply the fact that the guitar is a small one make the music infantile? Of course not.
No one ever criticised Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards for being immature, at least not musically, and the maestro Bill Tapia has never been considered childish. So why is ukulele music at the brunt of criticism from some music aficionados? To answer that question you have to first understand why the ukulele has become so popular. There are a number of contributing factors, but it is clear that in the past two years, ukulele sales have increased ridiculously, by 42% in some cases.
Some put it down to the global financial crisis forcing people interested in learning an instrument to compromise for the more inexpensive option offered by the ukulele. Others are claiming it to be all the Magnetic Fields' doing, with it featuring extensively on 1999's 69 Love Songs While some put it down to the indie-folk revolution from the likes of Mumford & Sons (though I'm sure the same aficionados would hasten to note that Country Winston Marshall plays a banjo and not a ukulele.) If it is the cheaper cost of the ukulele that is the main reason however, then that will have gone some way in determining the demographic that is primarily playing the instrument. Twenty-somethings who can't afford their own acoustic guitar and pluck for the ukulele are going to start their musical journey covering other peoples' music. That's just how it's done. With the advent of social media, and especially YouTube, we now have access to people practising those new-found skills in their bedrooms whereas before, if they managed to secure one, we the listener only got to see the end product in the pub or at the local social club.
The fact that the ukulele is dangerously close to becoming considered the chosen instrument for the hipster, or the go-to instrument for use in the latest Apple ad, has turned a lot of people right of its twee-leanings (tweenings?) So it is perfectly understandable that music critics and general lovers of music over the age of 25 are going to be suspicious about this resurgence. The novelty of the ukulele had already worn off for them even before the recent rise. So when someone like Amanda Palmer jumps on the uke bandwagon and covers a song like Creep no less, they are going to project their feeling of the song being devalued onto the instrument that they believe is devaluing the song.
Amanda Palmer enjoys playing the popular hits of Radiohead on her ukulele.
If you listened to the Ukulele Ike and Bill Tapia songs I previously linked, you will find them to be very different from the sounds made by Vedder and Palmer and the like. There is more to the ukulele than some tropical strumming and a light-hearted ditty about a happy feeling. All of the very same themes and emotions that can be wrought from an acoustic guitar are just as possible when playing the ukulele. Though some misguided artists may feel the instrument is an easy string to add to their bow, and therefore fail to learn how to properly tune or indeed play a uke, the majority do bring their own value to the songs they are playing on the jumping flea.
Modern artists who really know the intricacies of the ukulele are very much around, and can be found for those willing to search. Beirut's Elephant Gun is a perfect example of just how beautifully a ukulele can combine with the rest of a band to really bring life and depth to a song, while Jake Shimabukuro's now famous rendition of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps is simply one of the greatest solo renditions ever played on the famous Hawaiian guitar. While most show how easy it is to learn the instrument, very few can demonstrate just how difficult it is to truly master. That is not a restriction of the ukulele so much as a restriction of the player.
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