The Uke is EduPunk

I have a personal interest in the theory of education, and one aspect of recent education theory that I have become interested in is Edupunk. Although its an idea that principally developed through the use of Web 2.0 within education, I think it can be more broadly associated with DiY ethos of education. It is this wider view that I think the Uke potentially steals the show in.

Coming from Taunton, I love this video, especially the description as being ‘just outside London’… haha.. only in the way Chicago is just outside New York! I however think this is a wonderful example of how the Ukulele can become an important educational tool, and not purely for teaching music.

It’s worth noting that although this video shows a reasonably recent development in Taunton, the ukulele has a much longer history in teaching in Canada, it was J. Chalmers Doane who pioneered the use of ukuleles in Canadian schools.

Interestingly for those who have come to the Ukulele in the current wave, one of the key early figures of this new ukulele revolution, a certain James Hill, actually learnt his ukulele skills in the Canadian school system. Ukulele instruction has been mandatory in many schools in his home of Langley since the late 1970s and this is where Hill was introduced to the ukulele at the age of nine. During his teenage years he honed his skills as a key member of the renowned Langley Ukulele Ensemble under the direction of Peter Luongo.

James Hill has continued this teaching tradition and regular gives lessons at Ukulele festivals and events, and recently co-authored the Ukulele in the Classroom method book series with that first pioneer J. Chalmers Doane.

It seems to me that the Ukulele really is a potentially very inexpensive method for teaching music and the arts in the school system, as well as bringing a little fun and joy into the world in the process.

James Hill @ the Kennedy Center

James Hill

For anyone that missed it, the James Hill concert given tonight at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, is available to view online.

This is how the Kennedy Center Introduces James Hill:

“Since the release of Playing it like it isn’t… in 2002, James Hill has made it his mission to convince skeptics of the beauty, versatility, and appeal of the ukulele with original music that combines folk, old-time, gospel, and blues influences. The ukulele, embraced by mainstream media from Oprah to American Idol, has returned from pop culture exile and become a tonic for modern malaise the world over.

Canadian Folk Music calls Hill “truly amazing… a serious virtuoso upon the instrument.” The Honolulu Star-Bulletin calls Hill a “rare peer” of Hawaii’s premier ukulele players even though his hometown of Langley, British Columbia is nearly three thousand miles east of Honolulu. Ukulele instruction has been mandatory in many schools in Langley since the late 1970s and this is where Hill was introduced to the ukulele at the age of nine. During his teenage years he honed his skills as a key member of the renowned Langley Ukulele Ensemble under the direction of Peter Luongo.

True Love Don’t Weep, his first full-length collaboration with cellist Anne Davison, features cello, banjo, bouzouki, fiddle, voices, winds, brass, bells, and music boxes entwined with ukuleles of all shapes and sizes. True Love Don’t Weep isn’t a campaign for the ukulele, just an offering of beautiful, sweetly sorrowful music.

Hill, also a passionate teacher, recently co-authored the Ukulele in the Classroom method book series with J. Chalmers Doane, the trail-blazing teacher who pioneered the use of ukuleles in Canadian schools. His music is heard frequently on CBC and NPR National radio. Hill has made TV appearances on The Tony Danza Show, MTV, Urban Rush, and Studio 4 with Fanny Keifer, and has shared billing with Jerry Douglas, Robert Cray, Lyle Lovett, and countless others.

Since turning heads with his early recordings, concerts tours throughout North America, Europe, and Asia have broadened Hill’s musical tastes and horizons. And while the sense of budding world-weariness that pervades True Love Don’t Weep might seem contrary to the ukulele’s reputation as a pocket-sized ray of sunshine, the album radiates a deep caring for music and a certain faith in the ukulele as a four-stringed life-raft for uncertain times.”

Social Media and the Uke New-Wave

The recent trend in popularity of the Ukulele can be seen most prominently on the internet, now it seems no self respecting you-tube star is without a Ukulele!

It seems to me that there are two virtuosos who in a way kicked started this popularity: James Hill and Jake Shimabukuro.

Here’s a video by each of them to demonstrate the talent that launched a thousand ukes!