Recently I picked up an electric ukulele from a local music store, Jesse and Friends. And I have yet to regret the purchase. It’s something I’ve been wanting for a while as I have been meaning to branch out from guitar. I enjoy experimenting with new things and switching stuff up in order to better understand the guitar. Also I am a huge Vance Joy fan, whose instrument of choice is the ukulele.

The ukulele is a four-stringed, primarily acoustic instrument. It seems right out of a Hawaiian postcard. The one I bought was constructed with a base of an old cigar box and a pine neck. It’s unconventional, but high quality and handmade. I was immediately attracted to the cigar box. It seemed vintage and authentic to blue grass culture. I also like knowing that it wasn’t mass-produced in a factory but that a human being was bent over this thing for weeks. I am a fan of woodworking myself so holding the ukulele in my hands brings the smells of pine shavings and sawdust right into my nose.

I’ve grow accustomed to it very quickly, most likely because it’s the same basic concept as guitar playing. My transition from guitar to ukulele has been nearly seamless. With the exception of the strings being in a different order, everything feels natural. With less background noise from other strings, the ukulele seems to be designed for my personal minimalistic style chords. Mostly, I have been learning basic improvisation and covering some of my songs. So far I am intermediate at “Ho, Hey” by the Lumineers, “Riptide” by Vance Joy, “The Times They Are a Changin’” by Bob Dylan and “Lost In My Mind” by The Head and The Heart. Next I will be taking on some bluegrass classics like “Rye Whiskey” by the Punch Brothers.