Shakuhachi Spotting

I'm armchair traveller much more than I'd really like to be these days but the responsibilities of caring for a senior dawg are reining in my wandering ways.  All is not lost though, I have more focused time now to play my flute and, as well, drum and strum.  And I've been able to savour the daily Facebook photo updates that our local shakuhachi master, Alcvin Ramos, has been posting of his 2015 Shakuhachi Roots pilgrimage.  Among the many fascinating photos of Japanese temples and meetings with well known shakuhachi teachers and players, Al has documented numerous shakuhachi themed imagines.  Here are a few of the prints and paintings he took photos of on his recent trip:

Hank

They are the poor person's hang drum, the hank drums were originally made from propane tanks and are tongue drums created to provide a cheaper alternative to the Swiss made hang drum and its subsequent copies. 

The hank, a term that arose from the combination of tank and hang, is now usually fined crafted from carefully shaped steel specially formed for the drum body and then precisely tuned by experienced artisans. 

This hank is a Manastone and plays in the key of E in a Mixotonic scale. 

Though mallets can be used to play this steel tongue drum, many prefer to use their fingers and hands for a greater range of techniques and a more intimate relationship with the instrument. Playing the hank is like going on a trip through a colourful and varied soundscape comprised of a blend of percussion and melody. 

The Itsy Bitsy Ukulele Meets Jake

We had a terrific evening at Jake's concert in Bellingham and even the line up waiting for a photo with Jake was enjoyable as we socialized with ukulele friends from our local Vancouver meetup groups and got to know other ukulele enthusiasts from Washington state.

I had brought along a short scale model of the Itsy Bitsy uke made by Allan Page in the UK to give to Jake for his young sons.  The short scale model is particularly well suited to kid size fingers but that didn't stop many of the uk'ers in the line up or Jake himself, for that matter, from having at go at playing the micro instrument!

Thanks to Jake Shimabukuro for a great concert and a fabulous time at the Mount Baker Theatre!

Jake Shimabukuro Concert

Tickets purchased months in advance, passports dusted off, my ukulele pal and I headed south from Vancouver to Bellingham.  A lovely fall afternoon, the roads were dry, the leaves were red, the border crossing was quick and here we are outside of the Mount Baker Theatre in plenty of time for the evening concert.

Being a total Jake fangurl, I had watched all of his YouTube videos, listened to every album and read all of his Facebook posts but nothing, absolutely nothing, comes close to seeing and hearing Jake live.  His technical skill as a musician is extraordinary and the energy he puts into each piece is simply stunning. 

It was no surprise to see many Vancouverites in the audience and afterwards in the long line for photos and autographs with Jake we had a chance to talk to quite a few of our ukulele meetup pals.  The Itsy Bitsy uke was a magnet for uke lovers and it again lived up to its reputation of being 'Big Fun in a Small Package'.

Here is Jen, the cofounder of the Cutie Ukes http://cutiecircle.com/  having a swell time with the Itsy Bitsy:

and David from Oakland was among the Itsy Bitsy fans too:

This short scale version of the Itsy Bitsy found its best fit under the nimble fingers of the kids in the crowd.  The younger players absconded with the wee uke so quickly I wasn't even able to snap a pic!

I've had quite a few inquires about the Itsy Bitsy ukulele which is a completely playable instrument totally handmade by Allan Page in the UK.

For those adults interested in a longer scale version, you find photos of the instrument's construction and contact info for Allan Page the maker of the Itsy Bitsy uke on Facebook (just search for "Itsy Bitsy"). And for anyone thinking of a teeny uke for the smaller people in their lives, I highly recommend the short scale model.

Itsy Bitsy meets the iUke

Being a part of the Ruby Ukes Orchestra here in Vancouver as many benefits not the least of which is being among such a large group of ukulele enthusiasts. One of the orchestra members, Marlene, is a big fan of small ukes.  She kindly brought a few of her mini ukes to last night's practice and even lent me one to play at home. So now I have a perfect opportunity to compare the iUke with the original short scale IB.

The iUke fretboard is a tad over 5 1/2 inches long and at this length I found it a fairly manageable uke to play.

The original IB's slightly under 4 inch scale, in contrast and has already been noted, is just a bit too short for comfortable micro uk'ing.

So, with the next generation of IB already off the drawing board and the first build ready to be lauched, going for the longer 9 inch scale is going to make this model a fine player and most likely even more comfy to fret than the iUke.

The build of the IB's is so much more robust than the China made iUke which will encourage ukers to consider the IB as an excellent choice to take travelling, for example.

The iUke does come with a nice custom gig bag: 

That said, I am going down to Bellingham tomorrow to the Jake Shimabukuro concert and I haven't had any problems tucking the IB safely into my medium sized messanger bag. Have IB will travel!

Itsy Bitsy goes to Ruby Ukes

Daphne Roubini, cofounder of Ruby Ukes, Vancouver's very own ukulele school, has nimble fingers on any fretboard and shows a strong curisoty towards anything ukulele. She was quick to scoup up the wee Itsy Bitsy uke when I brought it to our Thursday ukulele orchestra practice.

"Fret markers, you could use some fret markers", she suggested while she deftly plinked on the wee uke. A slightly longer fretboard and thinner neck were also improvements that Ruby felt the next evolution of the IB could benefit from. 

Next to the orchestra's cello, the Itsy Bitsy was living up to its name. 

Someone recently mentioned to me that bringing the IB to a uke meetup was like having a "ukulele puppy", everyone is drawn to it and wants to give it a cuddle.

There's a buzz among the IB fans with regards to the next Itsy Bitsy with its longer fretboard and refined design. Already lots of players queuing up for a chance to cosy up to an Itsy Bitsy puppy!

Steveston Ukulele Circle

It's a bit of a trek from Vancouver's West End where I live to the Steveston Japanese Cultural Centre where the weekly ukulele circle meets on Friday mornings but it's well worth it!

On sunny days I take transit part ways then ride my bike along the lovely Richmond bike paths. 

Some days it's transit all the way or a pal picks me up at the Skytrain station and occasionally I even drive our car but no

matter my mode of transport I rarely miss this gentle easy going ukulele group. 

Everyone in the group is warm and welcoming so it's easy to meet new friends - ukulele players just seem to be like that wherever you go, I've found. And lucky for me the Steveston group has been a fun magnet for some of my long time friends as well.