The ukulele ( / ˌ j uː k ə ˈ l eɪ l i / YOO -kə- LAY -lee ; Hawaiian: [ʔukulele] ), also called a uke (informally), is part of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. It originated in Portugal and became widely known in Hawaii. The sound and loudness of the ukulele depend on its size and how it is built. Ukuleles are usually available in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.

Most ukuleles have four nylon strings tuned to GCEA. The baritone ukulele is usually tuned to DGBE. They have between 16 and 22 frets, depending on the size.

History

The ukulele was created in the 1880s. It is based on small, guitar-like instruments from Portugal, including the machete, cavaquinho, and rajão. These instruments were brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, the Azores, and Cape Verde. Three Madeiran cabinet makers—Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias—are usually credited with making the first ukuleles. Two weeks after they arrived in Hawaii on the SS Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."

King Kalākaua of Hawaii strongly supported the ukulele. As a supporter of the arts, he included it in performances at royal events. In Hawaiian, the word "ukulele" means "jumping flea," possibly because of the quick movements of the player's fingers. A story says the name came from Edward William Purvis, a small Englishman who played the instrument well. The first printed use of "ukulele" to describe a stringed instrument appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments of All Nations in 1907. The catalog described two ukuleles from Hawaii—one similar to a modern soprano ukulele and one similar to a tenor.

In the 1960s, educator J. Chalmers Doane used the ukulele in Canadian schools to teach music. His program helped 50,000 students and adults learn to play the instrument. A revised version of his program, "Ukulele in the Classroom," created in 2008 by James Hill and Doane, is still used in Canadian music education.

The ukulele reached Japan in 1929 when Yukihiko Haida, a Hawaiian-born musician, returned to Japan after his father's death. He and his brother Katsuhiko formed the Moana Glee Club, which became popular as Western music grew in Japan. During World War II, Western music was banned, but fans kept the ukulele alive in secret. After the war, it became popular again. In 1959, Haida started the Nihon Ukulele Association. Japan later became a place where many Hawaiian musicians and ukulele experts lived.

British singer George Formby played the ukulele, though he often used a banjolele, a mix of a ukulele and a banjo. Demand for the ukulele grew in the 21st century because of its ease of use and portability. Another British player was Tessie O'Shea, who appeared in movies and on stage. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performs worldwide, and the George Formby Society, started in 1961, holds regular meetings.

George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon all played the ukulele. Harrison, a fan of George Formby, gave ukuleles to friends, including Tom Petty, whom he taught to play.

The ukulele became popular in the United States during the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915. A Hawaiian music group, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartet, performed with ukulele maker Jonah Kumalae. Their performances sparked a trend for Hawaiian-themed songs. The group also introduced the lap steel guitar and ukulele to U.S. music, which was later used by performers like Roy Smeck and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. In 1923, Smeck played the ukulele in a film called Stringed Harmony. In 1926, he played it in His Pastimes.

The ukulele became a symbol of the Jazz Age. It was easy to learn and affordable, making it popular among amateur musicians in the 1920s. Sheet music for popular songs included ukulele chord diagrams, which were later replaced by guitar diagrams in the 1950s. Companies like Regal, Harmony, and Martin started making ukuleles, banjoleles, and tiple to meet demand.

The ukulele also appeared in early country music, played by Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest V. Stoneman, and string bands like Cowan Powers and his Family Band.

From the late 1940s to the late 1960s, Mario Maccaferri, a plastics manufacturer, produced about 9 million inexpensive ukuleles. The instrument remained popular in jazz music during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Arthur Godfrey, a television host, helped increase the ukulele's popularity, especially the baritone size. In 1959, Marilyn Monroe played the ukulele in the movie Some Like It Hot. Tiny Tim became famous for playing the ukulele on his 1968 song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."

The ukulele had a period of low popularity in the 1960s, as it could not compete with the sound of rock 'n' roll.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, formed in 1985, helped start the Ukulele Revival. The group showed that the ukulele could be used for complex music, not just simple tunes. Interest in the instrument grew in the 1990s, and new manufacturers began making ukuleles. Jim Beloff promoted the instrument in the 1990s and created music books with modern and classic pieces.

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, a Hawaiian musician, helped bring the ukulele back into the spotlight with his 1993 song combining "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World." The song reached number 12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart in 2004.

The creation of YouTube helped the ukulele gain popularity again. One of the first viral videos was Jake Shimabukuro's performance of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." The video received over 17 million views by September 2020.

In recent years, the ukulele has been used more in music education, sometimes replacing the recorder as the first instrument taught. It is used for solo performances and in group music pieces.

Construction

The ukulele is usually made of wood, but some versions are made partly or fully from plastic or other materials. Less expensive ukuleles are often made from plywood or layered wood, sometimes with a soundboard made from a special type of wood like spruce. More expensive models are made from solid hardwoods, such as mahogany. The traditional wood used for ukuleles is a type of acacia that grows only in Hawaii, called koa.

Ukuleles typically have a body shape that looks like a figure-eight, similar to a small acoustic guitar. They can also come in other shapes, such as cutaway or oval, which is called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company. Other shapes include a boat-paddle style or a square shape, sometimes made from an old wooden cigar box.

Most ukuleles have four strings. Some strings are grouped in pairs, called courses, which can give the instrument six or eight strings (mainly to increase the volume when strumming). Originally, strings were made from catgut. Today, strings are made from nylon, synthetic gut, fluorocarbon, or wound strings with a nylon core covered in metal or polymer materials like aluminum or silver-plated copper.

Ukuleles with six or eight strings in four courses are often called taropatches or taropatch ukuleles. These were once common in the concert size, but today the tenor size is more common for six-string taropatches. The six-string, four-course version has two single strings and two pairs of strings, and is sometimes called a lili‘u. This name also applies to the eight-string version. Eight-string baritone taropatches exist, and five-string tenors have also been made.

Size and range

Common types of ukuleles are soprano (also called standard), concert, tenor, and baritone. Less common types include sopranino (also called piccolo, bambino, or "pocket uke"), bass, and contrabass ukuleles. Other types are banjo ukuleles and electric ukuleles. Among standard ukuleles, the soprano is the second smallest and was the original size. It is often called "standard" in Hawaii. The concert ukulele was created in the 1920s. It is slightly larger than the soprano, louder, and has a deeper tone. The tenor ukulele was made shortly after the concert model. It has more volume and a deeper bass tone. The baritone ukulele, which looks like a smaller tenor guitar, was created in the 1940s. The bass and contrabass ukuleles are newer, developed in 2010 and 2014, respectively.

A chart shows the range of notes for each standard ukulele type. The range of notes depends on the instrument’s size and tuning. The chart displays the lowest and highest notes each ukulele can play using standard tuning.

Tuning

One of the most common tunings for the standard or soprano ukulele is called C tuning. This tuning uses the notes G4, C4, E4, and A4. These notes can be remembered using the phrase "My dog has fleas" (see sidebar). In C tuning, the G string is tuned an octave higher than usual, which is why it is sometimes called "high G" tuning. This type of tuning is referred to as "reentrant tuning" because the G string is higher than the other strings, allowing for unique chord shapes that create close harmonies.

A less common tuning for the soprano ukulele, but more often used on larger ukuleles, is C linear tuning, also called "low G" tuning. In this tuning, the G string is an octave lower than in standard C tuning, resulting in the notes G3, C4, E4, and A4. This tuning is similar to playing the top four strings (D, G, B, E) of a guitar with a capo placed on the fifth fret.

Another common tuning for the soprano ukulele is D tuning, which has higher string tension. The notes are A4, D4, F♯4, and B4, one step higher than the C tuning. This tuning was once the standard during the early 20th century Hawaiian music movement and appears in many sheet music and method books from that time. Some people believe D tuning produces a sweeter sound on smaller ukuleles. A version of D tuning with a lower fourth string (A3, D4, F♯4, B4) is sometimes called "Canadian tuning" because it was widely used in Canadian schools and by musicians like James Hill and J. Chalmers Doane.

Whether C or D tuning should be considered the "standard" is a topic of ongoing discussion. Historical and modern ukulele methods have used both tunings.

For concert and tenor ukuleles, both reentrant and linear C tunings are standard. Linear tuning is especially common for tenor ukuleles.

The baritone ukulele typically uses linear G tuning, with notes D3, G3, B3, and E4. This tuning matches the highest four strings of a standard six-string guitar.

Bass ukuleles are tuned similarly to bass guitars. U-Bass style instruments use E1, A1, D2, and G2, while Ohana type metal-string basses use E2, A2, D3, and G3, which is an octave higher.

Sopranino ukuleles have less standardized tunings. They are often tuned re-entrant, but frequently at a higher pitch than C tuning. For example, a re-entrant G tuning might use D5, G4, B4, and E5.

Like other string instruments, ukuleles can be tuned in ways that suit individual players. For example, special string sets allow the baritone ukulele to be tuned in linear C. Some players use tunings similar to other four-string instruments, such as the mandolin, Venezuelan cuatro, or dotara. Ukuleles may also be tuned to open tunings, similar to the Hawaiian slack-key style.

Related instruments

Ukulele varieties include hybrid instruments such as the guitalele (also called guitarlele), banjo ukulele (also called banjolele), harp ukulele, lap steel ukulele, and the ukelin. It is common to find ukuleles combined with other stringed instruments because of their number of strings and ease of playing. There is also an electrically amplified version of the ukulele. The resonator ukulele makes sound using one or more spun aluminum cones (resonators) instead of a wooden soundboard, which gives it a louder and more distinct tone. The Tahitian ukulele, another type, is usually made from a single piece of wood and does not have a hollow soundbox, though its back is open. The Tahitian ukulele typically has eight strings made from fishing line, tuned the same as a Hawaiian ukulele in four groups of strings, with the middle two groups an octave higher than the Hawaiian version. Inspired by the Tahitian ukulele, the Motu Nui variant from France has four strings made from fishing line, and the hole in its back is designed to create a wah-wah effect. Mario Maccaferri invented an automatic chording device for the ukulele, called Chord Master.

Close relatives of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the cavaquinho (also known as machete or braguinha) and the slightly larger rajão. Other related instruments include the Venezuelan cuatro, the Colombian and North American tiples, the timple of the Canary Islands, the Spanish vihuela, the Mexican requinto jarocho, and the Andean charango, traditionally made from an armadillo shell. In Indonesia, a similar Portuguese-inspired instrument is the kroncong.

Uke Bass is a close cousin to the leona, a traditional bass instrument in the son jarocho genre.

Audio samples

• "Hene," a song composed by Henry Kailimai
• G-sharp minor chord
• C major scale
• Major scale played on a bass ukulele using a felt plectrum (first) and fingers
• Pitch frequencies for tuning a soprano ukulele