Contents For Verity First published in Great Britain 2013 Copyright Š 2013 by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Tom Hodgkinson For picture credits, see page 140. The moral right of the authors has been asserted. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers would be glad to hear from them. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury Publishing, London, New Delhi, New York and Sydney A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978 1 4088 3629 3 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Design by Gavin Pretor-Pinney Printed and bound in XXX
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(Frontispiece) Kolomona: Hawaiian Troubadour (1808) by Hubert Vos. Kolomona was a worker in the Honolulu docks by day and a popular ukulele entertainer by night.
Introduction 6 A Ukulele History 9 Ancestors of the Uke 10 The Uke Is Born 13 Uke Hits the Big Time 24 The Uke Is Mocked 36 The Uke Goes Plastic 47 The Uke Goes Underground 57 The Uke Returns 61 How to Play the Ukulele 77 Before You Begin 78 Week One 82 Week Two 87 Week Three 92 Week Four 97 Week Five 102 Week Six 107 How to Change Your Uke Strings 114 Songbook 117 Man of Constant Sorrow 118 Drunken Sailor 119 Scarborough Fair 120 Aloha Oe 122 By the Light of the Silvery Moon 123 The House of the Rising Sun 124 Greensleeves 126 The Skye Boat Song 127 Molly Malone 128 The John B. Sails 130 Danny Boy 131 Waltzing Matilda 132 Oh My Darling, Clementine 134 My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean 135 Resources 137 Internet Resources 138 Further Reading and Viewing 139 Acknowledgements 140 Picture Credits 140 Index 141