My Dog Has Fleas

Every Hawaiian kid I know has picked up a ukulele at some point in his or her life. It's easy to learn a few chords; the ukulele has only four strings compared to the six strings on a guitar, and the first chord, C Major, is quickly learned by placing the second (the middle) finger on the A.

To tune the ukulele each of the strings G,C,E, and A can be matched to the corresponding key on the piano, although a musician only needs one "true" note to tune the entire instrument, much like an entire orchestra tunes to an "A."

The "air ukulele" cartoon is funny because of the ukulele's popular image as a sedate, Island instrument. However, the current generation of artists, including my cousin by way of marriage, tests the limits of the ukulele.

To Greater Heights

Technology turns mediocre and non-talents into decent performers across a broad range of human activities (athletics, music, architecture, medicine, and analytics, to name but a few examples). But what about those at the top? If they fail to adapt, like some silent movie stars when talkies were introduced, they'll be left behind.

The top talents who do embrace the new technologies raise their chosen profession to greater heights. We are now used to listening to singers who record both melody and harmony in one song by using basic audio technology; and we have seen musicians show off their versatility by playing several instruments in a band and mashing the sound together in the studio.

We must confess that we are in awe of the "live loopers"---those who merge various sound tracks in real time. Below is a quiet, but brilliant example performed by Hilo-born ukulele artist Brittni Paiva.

It's Hard to Play Soft

A ukulele artist takes it down several notches and gifts us with a quiet "Silent Night." Instrumentalists and singers know that it's very difficult to play softly and slowly, when every off-key note, scratch of the bow, or uneven breath is noticeable. Thanks, Jake, and Merry Christmas (from Tim's brother).