Pick Up A Ukulele To Bring Out The Musician In You

If you are a beginner, a ukulele can be the perfect string instrument for you to learn music

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If you are a beginner, a ukulele can be the perfect string instrument for you to learn music

Music is known to have therapeutic effect. On a stressful day, listening to your favourite song can help lift your mood. Some research suggests that learning to play a musical instrument can improve your brain’s ability to “master tasks” that involve language skills, memory and attention.   

If you want to learn to play a string instrument, you can perhaps consider a ukulele. It looks like a miniature version of a guitar with four strings, but music aficionados would call it a travesty if you were to compare ukulele with a guitar.

Is it a Hawaiian instrument?

Most people associate ukulele with Hawaii where the instrument rose to immense popularity under the patronage of the royal family, especially Kalakaua, in the late 19th century. The king himself learnt to play the instrument and ukulele became an integral part of the Hawaiian culture.

However, the musical instrument traces its roots to the Portuguese braguinha. Legend has it that a Portuguese immigrant on reaching the Hawaiian shores started singing and strumming his braguinha. “The crowd of Hawaiians were so impressed by his fingerboard prestidigitation that they called the instrument “ukulele,” which translates to “jumping flea”,” writes Marion Jacobson for The Atlantic.    

Know your instrument

While the nature of the body determines the ukulele’s sound, the neck features the four strings. And, there are different kinds of ukuleles—soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The standard or regular ukulele is the soprano version while the conce...

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