Cool and Fascinating Facts About the Ukulele

The ukulele is a musical instrument with a traditional Hawaiian name which was originally developed in the Madeira Islands of Portugal. The ukulele is one of the first things that many people associate with Hawaii. But actually, the ukulele descended from an instrument called a braguinha, brought by immigrants from the island of Madeira, Portugal, who traveled to Hawaii in 1879. Three cabinet-makers, Dias, Nunes and Santo opened up a shop in Honolulu that created and sold the musical instruments. This instrument became very popular with people on the island, and it soon was changed into the ukulele. The ukulele is built from koa wood, which is a tree native to Hawaii. These changes helped Hawaii locals to create a unique sounding instrument in the ukulele.

musical instrument

Here are some more amazing facts about this unique musical instrument:

  • Ukulele means “jumping flea” in Hawaiian. The last living queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Liliuokalani, translated the Ukulele as “gift from afar”. Some people also just call it by its common nickname, the uke.
  • Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, loved to play the ukulele. In fact, after returning back from the moon he spent several weeks in quarantine as others feared he may have picked up strange bacteria while in space but he actually spent much of this time in quarantine strumming his ukulele!
  • George Harrison of The Beatles was also a very big ukulele fan. At the end of the song “Free as a Bird“, he plays the ukulele in the style of Formby. He is also mentioned to be a collector of hundreds of ukuleles and was often seen strumming them or giving them away to his friends.
  • The first ukuleles were in fact played for the Hawaiian royals. Ukulele players were found at royal events. This royal incorporation in turn made the instrument more popular in Hawaii. Had it not been for the royals, the instrument may have never left the island!

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Cool Facts About The Ukulele!

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Summer Camp Links

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Sax violin spot: Click here
Drum spot: Click here.
Guitar spot: Click here.
Bass guitar spot: Click here.
Piano/Keys spot: Click here.
Singer spot: Click here.


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Guitar spot: Click here.
Bass guitar spot: Click here.
Piano/Keys spot: Click here.
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Bass guitar spot: Click here.
Piano/Keys spot: Click here.
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