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| The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain |
Ukuleles are commonly associated with music from Hawaii. According to Queen Lili'uokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means "the gift that came here," from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come).
So where did the ukulele come from? it was taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde in the 19th century.
Ukuleles employ four strings and commonly come in four sizes, soprano, concert, tenor and baritone.
Since the ukulele is highly portable and inexpensive, it has become a popular instrument in different countries, such as Canada, Japan and the United States. (Visist www.ukulelehunt.com if you want to know more about this cute instrument)
Adding to our Super Mario Bro theme collection - hear it on the ukulele.
How does the timbre of the piece differs when it's played on a guitar?
As for the guitar, it is hard to traced back to its orgin as string instrument that resembles the guitar has appeared as early as 5000 years ago in the Middle East, central Asia and India. There was not a single person who invented the guitar, it rather evolved over time from ancient guitar-like instruments into the modern guitar we have now. It was not until 1779 when the real first modern version of the guitar was "invented" by an Italian man by the name of Gaetano Vinaccia. The modern-day guitar usually has six strings; it is one of the primary instruments in blues, rock, pop and country music.
