Check out our Ukulele!
As part of our Library of Things collection, we are pleased to include a concert-scale ukulele. For those wishing to learn, here is a quick collection of Library resources to help get you started. Ukuleles are small and portable, relatively inexpensive, easier to learn than many other instruments, and lots of fun to play. They are becoming more frequently circulated in library collections, and more commonly used in music education at all levels.
We kindly ask that you refrain from practicing inside the Library to avoid distraction; however, we do still want to hear you play! Tag @fairfieldulib in your ukulele social media posts to share your talent with the Fairfield Library community!
Getting Started
Tuning the Ukulele
The ukulele uses re-entrant tuning: the top string is higher than the next two strings, instead of each string being tuned in ascending order. If you do not have a tuner, you can download an app to your phone. Pano Tuner is one free option that works on both iPhone and Android, but there are several others.
Method Books
If you do not read music notation, the ukulele is very forgiving when learning to play by ear.
However, if you would like to use a method book, you have access to this beginner eBook through the Fairfield University Library:
- Uke can do it 2: classroom ukulele methodHint: For more experienced musicians, transposing music you already know into keys like C and F work particularly well in the standard tuning above.
Listening and Inspiration
For historical and recent recordings of ukulele players, search “ukulele” in any of these audio databases accessible through the Library:
- Audio ArchiveThis library contains recordings ranging from alternative news programming, to Grateful Dead concerts, to Old Time Radio shows, to book and poetry readings, to original music uploaded by our users. Many of these audios and MP3s are available for free download.
- National JukeboxFree streaming of historical recordings, from the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.
- Smithsonian Folkways RecordingsSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. You can hear samples and read liner notes for many of their recordings on their website.
