Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004
Musical aloha of Hawai'i continues to live on
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Daylen Horn, 13, of Waipi'o Gentry, strums along with master 'ukulele teacher Roy Sakuma at Sakuma's studio in 'Aiea. Daylen is one of 125 children who will get instruments from the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the introduction of the 'ukulele to Hawai'i from Portugal.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Daylen Horn, 13, couldn't believe he'd soon be getting a free 'ukulele, complete with lessons — compliments of a bunch of devoted Hawai'i uke enthusiasts who are giving instruments to 125 local kids.
"I was surprised when I found out," said Horn, who on Thursday met the man who may one day teach him — Roy Sakuma.
Asked what famous 'ukulele player he'd most like to emulate, Daylen didn't hesitate.
"Roy Sakuma," he responded.
"Hey, usually they say Jake Shimabukuro," Sakuma said with a laugh after meeting Horn at his shop in 'Aiea. "Now I know I'm going to teach you."
Sakuma told Daylen that when he was a child, many of Hawai'i's noted 'ukulele players took him under their wing and taught him their secrets.
Now, he said, he was happy to return the favor by donating his time to the Ukes for Kids project, dedicated to promoting Hawai'i's celebrated "jumping flea," and to perpetuate its musical contribution to the Islands.
The third annual 'Ukulele Exhibition and Conference's special 125th Anniversary Benefit Concert begins at 7 tonight at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel. The concert will present professional 'ukulele players and performers, including Auntie Genoa Keawe and the Side Order Band, John King, Byron Yasui, James Hill, Benny Chong and Lyle Ritz. Karen Keawehawai'i will be the emcee.
Tickets are $15 at the door and can be purchased at the UGH Web site, www.ukuleleguild.org. A free 'ukulele exhibition will be open throughout today at the hotel and features ukes, displays, vendors, and virtually anything associated with Hawai'i's most endearing musical instrument.
Seminars running throughout the day focus on such 'ukulele aspects as instrument building techniques, music theory, picking methods and strumming secrets, and will be presented by such noted instructors and aficionados as Yasui, Ritz, Chong, Jim Beloff, Hiram Bell, Sam Au and others.
Seminar passes are $35. Last night, Big Brothers Big Sisters kicked off Ukes for Kids by handing out the first 25 instruments as part of this weekend's third annual 'Ukulele Exhibition and Conference at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel.
It was in 1879 that Portuguese immigrants brought a small four-stringed instrument known as the braguinha to Hawai'i. Islanders soon fashioned their own version, which they dubbed the 'ukulele — which translates to jumping flea in Hawaiian.
Almost immediately the 'ukulele became a symbol of Hawai'i's musical aloha and playfulness.
It was an American fad during the 1920s, a household object throughout the 1950s, and recently it became a phenomenon again after local manufacturers could barely turn out enough high-end versions to meet a sudden worldwide demand.
Music, ukes, kids and Waikiki — to much of the outside world, things don't get much more Hawai'i than that. But believe it or not, Ukes for Kids didn't originate here at all. It was imported from Santa Cruz, Calif.
"You'd think we'd have been the first," said Amy Watari, who coordinated the Ukes for Kids project for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu.
"Ukes for Kids was actually started with the 'Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz, California, in conjunction with the 'Ukulele Hall of Fame out of Rhode Island," said Mike "Ukeman" Chock, a full-time 'ukulele and guitar maker and founder of the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, or UGH, in 2001.
The California Ukes for Kids program was created in cooperation with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz, and was part of Uke Fest West, a three-day 'ukulele festival there last April.
Chock expressed amazement that someone beat Hawai'i to the punch on what he thinks should have been its own idea. But he said the Santa Cruz club was only too happy to share Ukes for Kids with the state for which the diminutive 'ukulele is famous.
UGH decided to follow Santa Cruz's lead after some of its members attended Uke Fest West.
"So that's how we got lucky enough to be a part of this," said Watari, who said Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu would target musical Little Brothers and Little Sisters on O'ahu who might otherwise not be able to afford an instrument.
She said the recipients would be learning to play from well-known Island instructors, including Sakuma, Terry Brown and Kimo Hussey, who have offered to donate their time.
Turns out the kids will learn on 'ukulele that were imported, too. "From China," said Chock.
Made of mahogany and retailing for around $125 each, they are quality instruments, he said. And compared to locally made 'ukulele, which can retail from $400 and up, they were an affordable alternative for the local sponsors who paid for and donated them.
One kid who had no objection was Daylen Horn, who picked up his 'ukulele at last night's UGH members banquet meeting at the Marriott Hotel. Daylen is confident he'll learn to play the instrument from one of the best.
"Years ago, if someone played the 'ukulele and they were good, they would turn their back to you so you couldn't see how they did it," Sakuma told Daylen. "But the funny thing was they would say to me, 'Roy, come — I show you.'
"Which was nice — because now I'm able to share their secrets with everybody."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Daylen, of Waipi'o Gentry, is one of 125 children who will be getting the instruments from the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the introduction of the 'ukulele to Hawai'i from Portugal. The guild is donating the instruments to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Honolulu to give away to boys and girls this year.
Today, it's all about the uke
