Aloha Ukulele!

The ukulele (/juːkəˈleɪliː/ yoo-kə-LAY-lee, from Hawaiian: ʻukulele [ˈʔukuˈlɛlɛ] (oo-koo-leh-leh); variant: ukelele) is a member of the lute family of instruments. It generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings. Some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.

The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian adaptation of the Portuguese machete, a small guitar-like instrument, which was introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, mainly from Madeira and the Azores. It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century and from there spread internationally.

The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.

The creation of YouTube was a large influence on the popularity of the ukulele. One of the first videos to go viral was Jake Shimabukuro’s ukulele rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on YouTube. The video quickly went viral, and as of December 2016, had received over 15 million views.

YouTube Link

Construction

Ukuleles are generally made of wood, though variants have been composed partially or entirely of plastic or other materials. Cheaper ukuleles are generally made from plywood or laminate woods, in some cases with a soundboard of a tonewood such as spruce or Sapele. The traditionally preferred wood for ukuleles is acacia koa. More expensive ukuleles are made of solid hardwoods such as mahogany.

Typically, ukuleles have a figure-eight body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar.

These instruments usually have four strings; some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings (primarily for greater strumming volume.) The strings themselves were originally made of catgut. Modern ukuleles use nylon polymer strings( Aquila strings – are industry standard and are highly rated and recommended by most. )

Size and popular tunings of standard ukulele types:

Ranch 21” Soprano Ukulele Link

Ranch Soprano Ukulele UK-21 Beginner Kits

Ranch 23” Concert Ukulele Link

Ranch Concert Ukulele UK-23 Beginner Kits

Ranch 26” Tenor Ukulele Link

Ranch Tenor Ukulele UK-26 Starter Kits