Ukulele Goes to Big Sur, CA

Last weekend I went on a much needed backpacking trip with Bobby and some friends. We ended up in Big Sur on the Pico Blanco Camp Trail. It was definitely a trail in need of some care. Trees had fallen over about 30% of the trail. It was not only hard climbing over and around the trees but what was even more challenging was finding the trail after climbing.

Because of my attachment to my new found hobby, I had to bring my ukulele along for the ride. It wasn't too bad since Bobby carried the bulk of my things. After hiking/climbing about5 hours we met some backpackers returning from Pico Blanco Camp. It sounded like the hike was not going to get easier and there was a 'tick valley' to beware of. I was ready to turn around at that point. But we kept going...until 30 minutes later when we met another hiker who was on his way down. He also brought no good news. At that point three of us turned around and headed back to the Boy Scout Camp which took about 1.5 hours to find. We eventually set up camp there - having to cross a knee-deep ice cold river.


The other two turned around about 30 minutes after we did and eventually made it down the mountain before sunset. At camp I took out my ukulele and began playing some chords - eventually teaching a fellow camper how to play the chords for "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. She caught on pretty quickly and even learned a new strum pattern.


The tunes I played that night included "Somewhere over the rainbow/It's a wonderful world," (which is really difficult to sing) and "Puamana" (my husband's favorite song now). It's the song I learned in my first ukulele class. I definitely mis-pronounced and even skipped some Hawaiian words at various points in the song. If you're not Hawaiian you won't notice anything unusual about my performance.

Here's the link to the campfire song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfoQaRBiyuE
The next day we hiked about 3 hours to get back to our car and head over to Big Sur's famous Nepenthe Restaurant. The view was worth the hour long wait before we got our table.

Learning about Jake, then meeting him...all in two week's time

March 12, 2010 - Jake Shimabukuro was featured in on www.CNN.com

(http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/showbiz/2010/03/11/jake.shimabukuro.ted2010.cnn). His video, created for Ted.com, was one of the most popular videos to watch...and being an avid news junkie, I clicked on it and was instantly dazzled by Jake's passion for the Ukulele. He likened the instrument to a little child's voice - high pitched, happy, and one that just puts you in a good mood. The next thing I did was go to www.YouTube.com to watch him perform some songs. At once, I sent an email to my guitar teacher with the link.

He wrote back:

"We shall be focusing on playing like Bruce Lee from now on. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k
Thanks Ellen"

That was all I needed before I knew that the Uke would be the next big thing in my life.

March 15, 2010 - I made a list of things that I would really like to have in my life and sent it to my husband, Bobby.

It read:

Subject Line: Expensive Gifts for Ellen's milestones

"Just keeping a list in case I forget:

• Waterproof digital camcorder (small and easy to hold and use)
• Food dehydrator (mini one please)
• Ukulele (I'd like to learn the instrument and I'm willing to sell a guitar if that's what it takes)
• Puppy (always the number one choice from the list of gifts)"

March 19, 2010 - after doing some shopping to prepare for a party the next day, Bobby pulled over at the Guitar Center on Vanness Street by our home. He said, "we're here to buy you a ukulele." Jumping out of the car with big smile, I found myself strumming the ukulele for the first time.

'Wait a second...the chords are completely different from the guitar! Ok...only four strings. This is going to be harder than I thought.' It usually is. So with some help, I ended up with the Ukulele Chordbook and the Cordoba acoustic-electric ukulele. I'm on my way to playing like Jake.

March 20, 2010 - after a birthday party I threw for one of my best friends ended, I got on the uke while Bobby cleaned up. I started playing "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz with four new chords I learned. Towards the end of the song there was knocking on the door so I head to open it and find three party people back for more. Actually, they left a jacket. They heard me singing through the door and demanded a performance. Obligingly, I played the uke for my first audience ever...finishing to cheers and applause.

March 21, 2010 - I went online to find some local uke teachers...and emailed two of them. One email bounced back and the other enclosed an entire class syllabus in his response back to me. Classes were forming and the first class took place the following day, March 22. I immediately responded and asked if I could join the class. With friendly Hawaiian swagger, I got a note that read, "Aloha mai e Ellen, Please come and join us." Yay! My first big step (after purchasing a Ukulele) to learning the uke.

After learning some basic chords for my favorite song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/It's a Wonderful World," I fell asleep with the uke at my bedside.

March 22, 2010 - After work, I headed to THE KAPALAKIKO BASIC UKULELE CLASS. I was the first one to arrive and was immediately put to work setting up chairs and stands for 6 people. I met Saichi Kawahara, the teacher and leader of the Kapalakiko Hawaiian (18 person) Band. He's an interesting teacher who has a passion for spreading his love of Hawaii, its music, and its culture. Our class time was spent on the origin of the ukulele, Hawaiian music, and how the greatest uke players of today have varying styles based on their childhood turfs (neighborhoods). There were five students total, one of which I will be forever thankful to: Mark.

Mark came about 15 minutes late to class because he was in the East Bay purchasing a uke for Jake Shimabukuro to sign at his concert that night. I said, "Jake's in town?!? Is the concert sold out?" Turns out he had an extra ticket! I rushed home to tell my husband about everything that transpired that night. Mark arrived to the event at Yoshi's Jazz Club early and found an additional ticket. Serendipitously, Bobby and I headed over and got our own table for the show. I even got to take my very own picture with my new Idol, Jake Shimabukuro. Is this destiny or what?

The show was amazing. He played some new songs to come out in his next album (143) in the fall and some old favorites that I've already become familiar with (Blue Roses, Trapped, Me and Shirley T, $5 unleaded, While my Guitar Gently Weeps, Crazy G, Let's Dance). My favorites were 143 and Blue Roses. I'll have to say watching him perform is just tantalizing. It shows how possible it is to learn anything and everything there is to an instrument and to make it do what you feel, think, and dream.

That night I made a promise to myself - that I would learn everything about the Ukulele there is to know. This includes all the notes on the fret board, the notes that form a chord (not just how to play the chord, but what's in the chords), and the best chord progressions. Although I've played the guitar for 2 years now, I still don't know where the notes are and what makes up a chord. I just memorize the chords to a song and play them without any understanding to why it sounds right. I believe the basic understanding of chords will be the key ingredient for me to learn to play uke solo pieces like Jake someday. It will be a long and challenging journey, but maybe one day, I can play alongside Jake. That would be one sweet day.

So, today, March 26, 2010...I've decided to start blogging about my path with the ukulele. I hope you'll find inspiration, joy, peace, and laughter as you read about this journey.