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The Ukulele Handbook

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The ukulele has gone from strength to strength in recent years, undergoing a massive resurgence. You can hear the uke all over the place, from trendster indie rock to top ten pop songs, from unshakeable TV ads to YouTube megahits. And this obsession shows no sign of abating - all over the country people are picking up a ukulele and starting to strum, at home, in classes and down at the pub. Schools are even replacing the faithful recorder with a jazzy, inexpensive uke. Famous idlers Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Tom Hodgkinson have spent hours idling away on their ukuleles to produce the ultimate uke handbook: an illustrated guide to its history crossed with a how-to guide and songbook. This is the book that will bring the underground movement into the mainstream. The first half of the book delves into the rich history of this eccentric little instrument, from its birth in Hawaii to its popularity across the world, with a timeline from 1879 to today and a ukulele hall of fame that includes George Formby, Hawaiian legend Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and YouTube ukulele superstar Jake Shimabukuro. Then on to the practicalities: the anatomy of the ukulele, which uke to buy, how to play it, how to strum, pick, read chord charts and tune the strings. Once you know all this, you can get playing the songbook, which includes a wide spread of songs from medieval lays and nursery rhymes to blues and rock 'n roll. Beautiful presentation and tab notation make reading the music easy, even for beginners. With the highest production values, a light touch and an irresistible instrument at centre stage, this book is a must-have for all aspiring Formbys.

Paperback: 144 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (November 19, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1620402203

ISBN-13: 978-1620402207

Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.5 x 8.4 inches

Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #426,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #99 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks > Guitars & Fretted Instruments > Ukuleles #184 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Instruments > Strings > Ukuleles #298 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Appreciation

Exceptional value. I've had over 30 ukulele books, and this is the best by far.First half is colorful, well presented history and description of the various uke, styles, and players. Second half is truly exceptional presentation of lessons, theory, and methodology, The lessons are geared for beginning to advanced. Ideas are presented simply, and with lots of ideas on ways to play them with more feeling! Thus it presents what are usually intermediate to advanced techniques from the very beginning. So, one can impress even players of many years, with only a few lessons learned.Beginners are likely to actually use this book and become lifelong Hawaiian ukulele club playing hipsters ! Kanikapila !!!

This is a fantastic book. I'm fairly new to the ukulele and this book has so much practical information! It is written with brevity where it is easy to understand. I have several other ukulele books and this is by far the best. I highly recommend this book. It has great diagrams and pictures as well.

Excellent book for beginner Uke players. Easy to follow.

fun to read the history, now will give it to youngsters to learn to play

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