Friday, June 7, 2013

Ukuleles...???





I have been hearing a lot about ukuleles becoming popular in Singapore. Kids, young adults and old folks are all getting the urge to play these 4 string mini guitars. I understand they are easy for people to learn to play. I wanted to try one out but realized since I am a kitty I would be all paws and never be able to get the hang of it...or could I...?



Imagine my surprise when on one of my recent illicit bus excursions I ended up on Sentosa Island and stumbled on a ukulele concert called Ukulele Groove. The concert was held at a big fountain in front of a humongous Merlion (The symbol of Singapore). The place was packed so I had to take extra care to stay out of sight by hiding under the tables that had been set out for the Bar-B-Que dinners being served. Some little kids who didn't realize cats were not invited "accidentally" dropped some delicious sausages  for me to eat.


There were 4 groups that played classic rock so the audience knew all the words and sang along. At one point, one of the groups invited people to come up on stage to learn a couple of chords and play along with them. Everyone was having a great time and I hated to leave but it was getting late and I had to beat my parents (who would have loved the event) home.
A couple of weeks later I was snoozing in front of my favorite window facing the warm sun when my parents came barging in, acting all excited about something. I could not believe what they had done...! They bought my crazy father a ukulele from Ukulele Movement. What was he going to do with it? He doesn't know how to play anything except the radio! Well he plopped down in his favorite chair, took the instrument out of the carrying case, tuned it like a pro and then proceeded to plink horribly. He made the most unpleasant sounds come out of that poor defenseless uke. Mother went to the kitchen to get away from the noise and I hid under the bed hoping the screeching would stop. Luckily his fingers started to hurt so our ears were spared for the rest of the night.
I am sure he will learn to play melodically pretty soon. I just hope he doesn't start to sing too!
Maybe, while my parents are at work during the day, I'll try my paws at playing. I couldn't possibly be a worse player than my father.









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