Georgia Magazine - October 2023 - 20

Rocking the
ukuleles
Playing this tiny four-stringed
instrument is cooler than ever
By Amber Lanier Nagle
A
few years ago, Ge-Anne Bowdoin of Calhoun signed up for a
beginner ukulele class in nearby Chatsworth.
" I had promised myself that I would learn to
play the guitar before I turned the 'big 5-0,' and time was
slipping away, " the digital learning specialist and mother of
two says. " So when I saw the course advertised on
Facebook, I thought, 'Why not?' I contacted [instructor]
Jim Pankey and signed up. "
Pankey helped Bowdoin select the perfect uke for her:
a left-handed concert ukulele (pronounced ook-oo-leh-leh by
most aficionados) that she ordered from Amazon. Two weeks
later, she was merrily strumming along with Pankey and
other students. Bowdoin says that being a singer and having a
basic understanding of music accelerated her learning curve.
" I understood chords, so the main issue for me was
following along as I slowly learned how to coax out each chord
formation [with my fingers], " she recalls. " Fortunately, this is
much simpler on an uke than on a guitar, and in just over an
hour, we were all playing music. Most songs, especially folk
songs, consist of only three or four chords repeated throughout. "
Bowdoin
learned to play a few songs and encouraged
friends to join in the uke craze. Then in 2020, when the world
slowed down during the first weeks of the pandemic, Bowdoin
reached for her ukulele to keep her company.
Since then, she's returned to her vocal roots, but she says that the
Top: The Southeast Ukers have been strumming together for more
than 14 years. Their SouthEast UKE-2-GETHER festival is set for Oct. 21
at Frog Rock Brewing Co. in Austell. Above: Mike Hater, Dee McCarty
and Donna McQueen snap a photo with uke artist Pete McCarty ( " Petey
Mack " ), second from left, at last year's Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway.
ukulele has left a song in her heart.
" I keep my ears open for 'strumalongs' in the park or some other social
playing opportunity, " she says. " It wasn't hard to learn, and playing it makes
me happy. "
And she's far from alone. According to Music Trades, a group that
analyzes market data for the global music-products industry, more than
1.7 million ukes were sold in the U.S. in 2021.
Throughout Georgia, people with a passion for playing the ukulele
gather for jam sessions; several music festivals feature one or more uke
bands; and Chatsworth even hosted a ukulele festival last September that
boasted a whopping 1,000 attendees.
If you've ever wondered about this tiny string instrument, perhaps it's
time to play along.
20 Georgia Magazine October 2023
Ukuleles unplugged
Though powerhouse performers like Taylor
Swift and Billie Eilish have plucked the strings of
ukes on stage in recent years, people of a certain
age know that ukes aren't anything new. Tiny Tim
strummed his ukulele and sang " Tip-Toe Thru' The
Tulips With Me " in the late 1960s, and in the 1990s,
Hawaiian-born Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (also known
as Bruddah Iz) introduced the world to his ethereal
uke medley that combined " Somewhere Over the
Rainbow " and " What a Wonderful World. "
" Hearing that one is what really hooked me, "
Mike McQueen says. He and his wife, Donna, own
Uke Republic in Austell. " I thought, 'I've got to learn
COURTESY MIKE MCQUEEN
COURTESY MIKE MCQUEEN
Georgia Magazine - October 2023

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