Ukulele: The World’s Friendliest Instrument
Ukulele: The World’s Friendliest Instrument Daniel Dixon Gibbs Smith Publishing Hardcover 144 Pages Audience – Any Player Rating – Ukulele pictured – c. 1960’s Silvertone Baritone Lavishly illustrated it follows the same general format as most ukulele books. It starts with a history of the instrument and its emergence from Hawaii to the rest of the world. It then goes into a variety of the great players, both past and present, and some of the amazing manufacturers. The use of photographs and pictures makes the book flow nicely and provides a colorful read. The book includes a few pages at the back from “The Daily Ukulele” by Jim Beloff on playing the instrument and a chord chart with 108 of the most common chords. The resources include web sites and local clubs, but it is a limited listing (12 entries) and is unfortunately already out of date. Overall I found…
Dick’s Improved Ukulele Method
I obtained a copy of Dick’s Improved Ukulele Method as part of a bundle that included a 1920’s C.F. Martin Style 1 Ukulele, which you can read about here. This 1924 publication is the second of three books on playing the ukulele that I am aware of that were written by Richard W. Konter. The first book was Dick’s Ukulele Method and the third was Dick’s Ukulele System. Konter became well known in the 20’s for his participation in the Byrd’s Expeditions that flew over the North and South Poles. On Byrd’s flight over the North Pole, Konter smuggled an ukulele into the plane, which is now on display at the C.F. Martin Museum. You can see pictures and read more in the recent Ukulele Magazine article A Historic Martin Ukulele Visits The Arctic. The book was issued in a large format 9″ by 12″ in size. It has 44…
Identify Your Vintage Martin – Caveat Emptor
I’ve been learning about vintage ukuleles made by the C.F. Martin Company for years, ever since I heard Brian Hefferan and Dave Passant playing their vintage Martins at various events. The sound of these instruments is distinctively different than any other. So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a deal, checking out online auctions, For Sale listings and yard sales for several years. And educating myself on identifying the different styles and how to determine the time frame during which it was made. My primary source is the definitive reference, The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant by John King and Tom Walsh. The archives of the C.F. Martin Company were used by the authors to create this volume. This book has the history of the instrument within the Martin Company as well as pages of information about the differences between the Styles and…