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The Forum: Ukulele - a history of Hawaii's national instrument

A ukulele sitting on its side on a Hawaiian beach

13/05/2021 GMT

Ukulele - a history of Hawaii's national instrument

BBC World Service - The Forum, Ukulele - a history of Hawaii's national instrument

The mini guitar that came to symbolise Hawaiian culture

The small portable instrument that is part of Hawaii’s cultural identity and that was once dismissed as a comedian’s gimmick or a children’s toy.

Throughout its 130-year-old history, the ukulele has often been underrated – for many, this tiny four stringed instrument is a musical joke, a plastic toy or a cheap airport souvenir, but in fact, some of the world’s greatest musicians have played and admired it, and it has enduring associations with the struggle for Hawaiian independence since its arrival on the islands from Madeira in the late 19th century. The ukulele is also surprisingly versatile and musicians are forever involved in the challenge of expanding its repertoire, from Bach to ukulele concertos to jazz.

Joining Bridget Kendall to find out more about this deceptively humble instrument is the award-winning musician Brittni Paiva, who’s been described as Hawaii’s pre-eminent ukulele artist; Jim Beloff, the co-founder of Flea Market Music, publishers of some of the first ukulele song books which played a key part in the modern ukulele revival, his forthcoming memoir is UKEtopia: Adventures in the Ukulele World; and Samantha Muir, a classical ukulele musician and composer, who’s doing a PHD at the University of Surrey in the UK to create new works for the classical ukulele repertoire. 

Produced by Anne Khazam for the BBC World Service. 

[Image: A ukulele sitting on its side on a Hawaiian beach. Credit: McCaig via Getty Images]

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