The Jumping Flea
Nowadays, you see ukuleles everywhere. On the streets, on the internet, maybe even some kids in your class bring them to school. They are super popular here in the U.S. but they are especially popular in Hawaii. Most times when people think of ukuleles, they think of Hawaii, and Hawaiian songs, like “Over the Rainbow”, and “What a Wonderful World”.
“Ukulele” is a traditional Hawaiian name that was first given to a small instrument called the Machete. The “Machete” was originally made in the Madeira Islands of Portugal. This instrument is a part of the guitar family. The people from Portugal brought the machete to Hawaii. Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and Jose do Espirito Santo, who arrived on the Ravenscrag in 1879 from the Portuguese Islands of Madeira are believed to have been the first makers of the Hawaiian “ukulele”’ (Unknown. "The History of the Ukulele"). The men who invented the ukulele traveled to America in the 1900s with the small 4-stringed instrument, once the Americans figured out what it was, companies started manufacturing ukuleles all over America.
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Don't you just hold it? Well, there are different ways of holding your ukulele and whether you stand up or sit down to play changes the position of how you hold the ukulele. If you are sitting down to play, then you let the body of the ukulele rest on one of your legs and let your strumming arm on the top of the ukulele. When standing and playing you want to hold the body of the ukulele against your chest and sort of prop your elbow that holds the neck of the uke on your hip, or your ribs. Whichever is more comfortable for you. Your strumming arm wraps around the bottom of the ukulele to support it. “Small note; don't hold it too tight! The sound still needs to vibrate properly through the body” (@ukuworld. "Top Ten Ukulele Tips For Beginners •