UkeOkay
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I just pronounce it as “u-ku-le-le”
What is an unpopular/controversial opinion you have regarding the ukulele?
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therealsimon
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EDW
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With all the thousands made, don't tell Martin!I got nothing, but I'll make one up for this thread:
If it ain't Hawaiian and koa (real koa from Hawaii, not that phony acacia stuff) it ain't an ukulele (no matter how you pronounce it!).
redpaul1
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Agreed! I posted a video in this forum here, a while ago, comparing Bb6 to C6 tuning, quoting from the (& much-missed), Dirk Wormhoudt aka 'southcoastukes', who knew more about this topic than anyone else ever.
If you have the time & inclination, do check out his South Coast Ukulele & Guitar Company: Guide to tuning and strings
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Milesaway71
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A lot of the high end custom builders go for that minimalist look on the FB in recent years.
My Kinnard (favored child) has zero fb markers.
Maybe that helps to force learn the fb a bit.
I don't think about it anymore because of how great the Kinnard is... one of my favorite things is to experiment with chord forms, arpeggios, solo lines/riffs in all positions.
Mike $
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Ukes aren't necessarily happy instruments. They are as happy as a tuba, a mellotron or a triangle. With an ounce of talent, one should be able to convey the range of emotions on a ukulele. It's not the instrument, it's the player. Uke players are no more happy than anyone else for that matter.
Milesaway71
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Just remembered my initial posts here had to do with Custom vs Production tenors... a controversial topic.
I still believe there's vital difference in tone (although the price differential isn't in line with the benefit) I will pay the stiffer price for that relatively small scale of improvement in tone... to a degree of course (my finances).
Tone is the King of factors in a great tenor.
The price of a Chuck Moore tenor (regardless of aesthetic) case in point.
In this decade Kinnard does it for me.
I don't have enough chances to play them all but looks like Kanilea has really kicked things upwards.
I still believe there's vital difference in tone (although the price differential isn't in line with the benefit) I will pay the stiffer price for that relatively small scale of improvement in tone... to a degree of course (my finances).
Tone is the King of factors in a great tenor.
The price of a Chuck Moore tenor (regardless of aesthetic) case in point.
In this decade Kinnard does it for me.
I don't have enough chances to play them all but looks like Kanilea has really kicked things upwards.
badhabits
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I had a hard time deciding whether to give this post a like or not
, but ultimately agree with it... as I think about "influencers" and look over towards central Europe
redpaul1
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No-one knows what "ukulele" really means. There is no 'correct' pronunciation of "ukulele."
John King: Haina ia mai ana kapuana
John King: Haina ia mai ana kapuana
ukukeguy
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You may recognise Bret McKenzie, Jemaine's partner in FOTC, in the lineup of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra.
I was likely exposed to the ukulele by Tiny Tim. I do not know how he pronounced its name (and don't care).
But my personal exposure (and still largest influence) to the ukulele came when I visited Hawaii. And even when I first went they did not require a passport because they were already the 50th state of the USA. And everyone I encountered there spoke English!
They have anglicized many words from the Hawaiian language, including ukulele (which translate to "jumping flea", likely due to the music and sound generated when introduced in the 1800s). So as spoken by the Americans there, who speak fluent English as their native language, the instrument is mostly pronounced "ook-kalaylee" as the accepted norm.
So my unpopular viewpoint is that it is not okay and disrespectful to make fun of anyone who pronounces it that way. It is condescending to think your pronunciation is the best or only way and that "English speakers" do it your "correct" way.
But my personal exposure (and still largest influence) to the ukulele came when I visited Hawaii. And even when I first went they did not require a passport because they were already the 50th state of the USA. And everyone I encountered there spoke English!
They have anglicized many words from the Hawaiian language, including ukulele (which translate to "jumping flea", likely due to the music and sound generated when introduced in the 1800s). So as spoken by the Americans there, who speak fluent English as their native language, the instrument is mostly pronounced "ook-kalaylee" as the accepted norm.
So my unpopular viewpoint is that it is not okay and disrespectful to make fun of anyone who pronounces it that way. It is condescending to think your pronunciation is the best or only way and that "English speakers" do it your "correct" way.
MusicalApprentice
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Maybe not controversial - or opinion - but it seems interesting to me that the ukulele seems like a long-standing instrument with a lot of history and tradition - only to find out that it was created relatively recently in only 1880 or so.
Can you say more about that? My teacher is obsessed with strumming patterns and I tend to follow rules
Voran
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I'm honestly not fussed - it's a fun and very practical instrument that I can just strap on my back and take anywhere due to its small size and purely acoustic nature. I can't do that with an electric guitar.
MusicalApprentice
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Yep. Completely agree. I love its portability.
I just always thought it was older than it is.
It's such a youngun..... In a good way...
I just always thought it was older than it is.
It's such a youngun..... In a good way...
Jan D
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Go for it, MusicalApprentice. Rent one for a month and see what happens. They are easier to play than most people think. I bought my first harp in 1999, taught myself how to play it, and 24 years later, it’s still my main instrument. The uke is a versatile, happy instrument, for sure. But a harp can sooth the soul. Everything you play on a harp sounds beautiful - even mistakes.
redpaul1
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Well, I certainly answered the brief! 
So if you want to call our beloved little instrument a 'jumping flea, then by all means, honour the 'okina, but if you're not invested in this particular foundation myth, you're under no obligation to do so.
Rupert Brooke, who travelled extensively in what were then called the South Seas in the early years of the twentieth century, writes in his poem "Waikiki" (dated 1913) of the "eukaleli"'s "plangent... thrills and cries..." Brooke is obviously spelling phonetically & without reference to back-formations based on foundation myths, the pronunciation he heard when living on Waikiki in those years.
In 1919, also before the first publication of the "jumping flea" story, P.G. Wodehouse wrote of the "ukalele" (in Damsel In Distress).
Think about it for a moment, if the original pronunciation had been "ook-kalaylee", wouldn't the earliest spellings reflected that pronunciation? The representation of vowel sounds in English hasn't changed that much in the past hundred years.
#ducksandruns
The late great John King who knew more about the history of the ukulele than anyone else ever conclusively demonstrated that the 'jumping flea' story is a foundation myth (one of five); first promulgated in the 1920s, & long after all the passing of those involved in the original transplantation of the little Madeiran chordophone to Hawaiian soil (it's all referenced in the link I provided).
So if you want to call our beloved little instrument a 'jumping flea, then by all means, honour the 'okina, but if you're not invested in this particular foundation myth, you're under no obligation to do so.
Rupert Brooke, who travelled extensively in what were then called the South Seas in the early years of the twentieth century, writes in his poem "Waikiki" (dated 1913) of the "eukaleli"'s "plangent... thrills and cries..." Brooke is obviously spelling phonetically & without reference to back-formations based on foundation myths, the pronunciation he heard when living on Waikiki in those years.
In 1919, also before the first publication of the "jumping flea" story, P.G. Wodehouse wrote of the "ukalele" (in Damsel In Distress).
So I'll go further (!). There's no 'correct' spelling of ukelele either - the original spelling (1896) according to both Webster & the OED!
Think about it for a moment, if the original pronunciation had been "ook-kalaylee", wouldn't the earliest spellings reflected that pronunciation? The representation of vowel sounds in English hasn't changed that much in the past hundred years.
#ducksandruns
