Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thinking about learning either mandolin or ukulele on the side while learning guitar.. anyone have some good happy strumming songs I should listen to, that might inspire me to learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 What style of music do you like or are interested in learning? I lean heavily towards bluegrass, so went the mando route instead of uke. Lots of simple old-timey songs lend themselves to the mando, whether strummed or picked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Hmm well on acoustic I like blues and good mellow laid back strumming and singing music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 My brain is running real slow this morning and I can't think of any specific song titles. But I'm awake enough to suggest that for some mando blues, head for YouTube and see what you can find in the style of the legendary Yank Rachell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Nice thing 'bout the uke is that you don't really have to learn any new chords. Check this out ... http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html Lots of fun tunes. "Rainbow Connection" would sound cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 I'm an uke guy. Both Samilyn and Stack make good points. The instrument must fit the music of interest. The uke can be a slightly easier instrument for guitarists to learn. I play mostly Hawaiian slack-key music on my Guitalele, which is a six-course tenor ukulele (center of that picture). Because the Guitalele has six courses tuned like a tenor guitar (capo on the 5th fret), all the chords and techniques of a guitar are immediately usable. What's Hawaiian slack-key? Besides the wiki definition, here are a couple of videos to help: [YOUTUBE]O8jiB01AqyU[/YOUTUBE] Aloha Oe in Slack Key [YOUTUBE]p32bBmLFopM[/YOUTUBE] Slack Key sample and lesson from Mark Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 ChiyoDad, that Guitalele is so cool! Six-string tenor uke = requinto? Of course, the scale is a bit different ... but the tuning is the same (ADGCEA). I've wondered about using a quasi-uke re-entrant tuning on my requinto ... kicking that fourth string (the G) up an octave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 I dunno when I think of Uke I kinda think of relaxed island music which is good. Mandolin sounds kinda nice too but I'm still not really sure. How much do beginner ukes and mandos go for? Nothing too expensive I hope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Stack, Sometimes I get tempted by a requinto. The local shop where I got my new Yamaha flamenco guitar now carries requintos too! ILikeGuitar It depends on what's acceptable. Here's a set of ranges that I've seen for the best ukulele quality on a tight budget: All laminated tenor of good quality (Cascade, Kala or Lanikai) - $50 to $150 Guitalele (Yamaha) - $120 shipped (from Canada) Solid-top tenor with case (Kala or Lanikai) - $200 to $275 All solid tenor with case (Pono Mahogany) - $320 (recommended) All solid tenor and made in Hawaii of Hawiian koa (Kamaka) - $1000 I still strongly suggest that you explore the music first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 I bought a uke and tried to bond with it. It wasn't for me. I may try experimenting with a mandolin later down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 yeah after listening to some stuff i think i like uke music so ill probably go with that but who knows i could get a mando somewhere down the line. what's the difference between the different types of ukes (tenor, concert etc)?would this be an ok thing to mess around on? http://www.wwbw.com/Lanikai-LU-21TE-Tenor-i250795.musicanything cheaper wouldn't be worth getting? those 50 dollar ones look kinda flimsyi don't really want anything that expensive just something portable to try and strum around on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Like Hud, I have a cool very old Martin uke, but I've never bonded with it either. However I did build a mandolin a year ago and while it will never replace a guitar, it is a lot of fun to noodle around with. I mostly fool around with simple chords and easy bluegrass songs - lots of good information here http://www.mandolincafe.com/ Another nice thing about the mando (or uke for that matter) is that they are great travel instruments - fit in the OH bin on an airplane, quiet picking in your hotel room at night. Good way to get a string fix while on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slider Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 http://www.beatlesite.info I use this site with my uke. it is great.let me know if the link is working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Same here - tried uke, but it never really did anything for me. Some folks can make some pretty amazing music on a uke, but I'm not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 what's the difference between the different types of ukes (tenor, concert etc)? would this be an ok thing to mess around on? http://www.wwbw.com/Lanikai-LU-21TE-Tenor-i250795.music anything cheaper wouldn't be worth getting? Size and tuning. Soprano is the smallest and uses re-entrant tuning (High-G, C, E, A). Concert is a size-up. Tenor is larger than concert and what performers and pros use and can be tuned re-entrant or with Low-G. Baritone is the largest and is tuned like the last four strings of a guitar. That Lanikai has a pre-amp which accounts for $50+ of its price. It'd probably be okay. Costco.com used to sell a $50 bundle from Cascade which was an excellent value for a laminated uke. It was a super-concert (concert body, tenor-scale [i.e. longer neck]). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILikeGuitar Posted March 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Is concert tuned like the soprano too? I'm looking to spend no more than $100 I think... The one without the pickup in it is $100 actually. Most of the ones under $100 are soprano. Is it that much of a limitation to use a soprano or concert instead of a tenor? If you see a good deal lemme know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C70man Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Definitely the Mandolin...if your dyslexic and you can play a guitar lefty, you shouldn't have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scodiddly Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 I went with a mandolin, haven't really tried a uke. But the mando is very fun to play, and the different tuning has caused me to stumble onto some interesting things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Is concert tuned like the soprano too? I'm looking to spend no more than $100 I think... The one without the pickup in it is $100 actually. Most of the ones under $100 are soprano. Is it that much of a limitation to use a soprano or concert instead of a tenor? If you see a good deal lemme know! The concert and soprano both use re-entrant tuning (high-G on the 4th string) which is the most familiar ukulele tuning. Tenors can be strung with both high-G and low-G. Between a concert and a soprano, I would recommend that you go with a concert since more folks find it easier to handle, and it's usually louder. I find that tenors fit me best;and I'm not a tall guy nor do I have thick fingers. At $100, you'd probably have to settle for an all-laminate ukulele. Have a look at this Kala and this Lanikai. Both of the sellers are reputable. You get a hardshell case with either instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Muddslide Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 I dunno when I think of Uke I kinda think of relaxed island music which is good. Mandolin sounds kinda nice too but I'm still not really sure. How much do beginner ukes and mandos go for? Nothing too expensive I hope Well, I play both, and I like both for different reasons. THE UKULELE- nylon strings for a more mellow sound, you can fingerpick the bejeezus out of them, and they have a real cool kitsch appeal but can also be used to make highbrow music. There's a cat named John King that does Back partidas on the uke. Amazing stuff. Also, the main difference between the two, in my opinion (and the main reason I have a hard time deciding which of the two to go full throttle into), is that the uke seems to lend itself more to solo performance in the sense that it's very singer-songwriterish. Lots of folks play the uke solo to accompany their singing. You don't see this as much with mandolin. The uke is really fun to pick up and play tunes on and sing with. THE MANDOLIN- to me is more demanding. Almost impossible to fingerpick, and I'm having a hard time getting my right hand technique and tremelo down. (I've been playing mando more than anything including guitar the past few months.) On the other hand, it is also very rewarding. It's a beautiful sounding instrument in the right hands. I'm not into bluegrass so I play old folk tunes and ragtime and blues stuff on it. It's a blast. But I don't think of it as a typical solo instrument outside of people who play Celtic or classical or renaissance type of music on it maybe. You can get a good starter uke or mandolin very reasonably. I got my first mandolin last xmas from Musicians Friend for $49. It's a Rogue A-style with f-holes and it is an incredible deal for that price. Ukes you can also get in the same range, but the quality varies. Some Mahalos, for instance, can be gotten for under $50, but some are good, some are crap. I owned a Lanikai for a while and while it really lacked volume, it was well made and played very well. I'd say the $50 Rogue is a great starter mando, while you might want to look at spending closer to $150+ for a comparable ukulele, but that's not gospel...it would be great if you could try some out. I've been having a hard time with this sort of. I'm almost 40 and I've played guitar for over 30 years and always will, though I'm really just average. But I've picked up so many other instruments off and on over the years. In a way, they are sort of bumping into each other...I want to devote my time to all of them, but the result is, none of them get played as much as they should for me to be able to advance very far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 It sounds like you're a uke guy, OP. It takes a lot less commitment and brain space, and a usable uke is a good bit cheaper than a decent mandolin. Or maybe it's that a cheap uke works better than a cheap mandolin. I've got both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 How about a compromise? CAVAQUINHO!!! Uke body but with steels strings. Played with a pick! not me also not me yep, you guessed it ... self-portrait [YOUTUBE]dgoKW0-5lJw[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrldev Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 Well, I play both, and I like both for different reasons.THE UKULELE- nylon strings for a more mellow sound, you can fingerpick the bejeezus out of them, and they have a real cool kitsch appeal but can also be used to make highbrow music. There's a cat named John King that does Back partidas on the uke. Amazing stuff.Also, the main difference between the two, in my opinion (and the main reason I have a hard time deciding which of the two to go full throttle into), is that the uke seems to lend itself more to solo performance in the sense that it's very singer-songwriterish.Lots of folks play the uke solo to accompany their singing. You don't see this as much with mandolin. The uke is really fun to pick up and play tunes on and sing with.THE MANDOLIN- to me is more demanding. Almost impossible to fingerpick, and I'm having a hard time getting my right hand technique and tremelo down. (I've been playing mando more than anything including guitar the past few months.)On the other hand, it is also very rewarding. It's a beautiful sounding instrument in the right hands. I'm not into bluegrass so I play old folk tunes and ragtime and blues stuff on it. It's a blast. But I don't think of it as a typical solo instrument outside of people who play Celtic or classical or renaissance type of music on it maybe.You can get a good starter uke or mandolin very reasonably. I got my first mandolin last xmas from Musicians Friend for $49. It's a Rogue A-style with f-holes and it is an incredible deal for that price.Ukes you can also get in the same range, but the quality varies. Some Mahalos, for instance, can be gotten for under $50, but some are good, some are crap. I owned a Lanikai for a while and while it really lacked volume, it was well made and played very well. I'd say the $50 Rogue is a great starter mando, while you might want to look at spending closer to $150+ for a comparable ukulele, but that's not gospel...it would be great if you could try some out.I've been having a hard time with this sort of. I'm almost 40 and I've played guitar for over 30 years and always will, though I'm really just average. But I've picked up so many other instruments off and on over the years. In a way, they are sort of bumping into each other...I want to devote my time to all of them, but the result is, none of them get played as much as they should for me to be able to advance very far. I am currently a classical guitar student-player and also play the Ukulele (Baritone) and learning the Mandolin. All three instruments complement each other and if you know your guitar fretboard well you will not have muchproblems playing the other two instruments. The Baritone Uke is the largest in size within the Ukulele family and is tuned exactly like the first four strings of the guitar - EBGD - The Mandolin is tuned EADG just like a violin. The mandolins courses (two identical strings to each open note EADG) are very close together and instead of fingering most players use a pick. The Mandolin lends itself to the melody part of musical composition. The Baritone Uke is very versatile for either melody or chords playing. A good mandolin (solid top)will cost about $200. and up. Solid-top Baritone Ukes can cost around $100.and up. My Kentucky-label solid-top Mandolin cost me $240. with case. My Blue Moon solid spruce top Uke cost me $85.00 (made in Europe). Age shouldnot deter you from trying something that you love. I picked the guitar in my70's and have enjoyed every minute of it. Knowing how to read the musical staff will advance your learning as well as your ability to learn new music.Good LuckLook inti Folk of the Woods and Hobglobin Music USA for more intrument information and prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Salvatori Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 I spent a week once along time ago with Jethro as his driver. He said it was a matter of either giving up drinking or giving up driving,so he had drivers. Little known fact about Jethro, he could play the guitar about as well as he could play the mandolin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members simplygoodmusic Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 wow! Cool story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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