Plinky asked, “What was the last thing you got really excited about?”
My ukulele! I wish I had a photo of her to post, but I don’t. She’s a travel tenor, which means that she’s a bit bigger than the “standard” (soprano) ukulele most people are used to seeing, but also thinner than a normal tenor. She has a lovely voice, a little deeper than a soprano uke. She isn’t a toy like the one on which I originally learned to play, either. And she’s mine all mine!
1) Getting together with an old friend
2) Meeting his partner for the first time (finally)
3) My sweet new ukulele!
Plinky asked, Which of your hobbies have you been doing for the longest amount of time? When did you start?”
That would be music. I’ve been singing since I was a small child in church choir. The way my mother’s family makes music, I could hardly avoid it (not that I wanted to). I learned to play the ukulele with the rest of my second grade class, but held on to my instrument and kept playing it for some time. I began piano lessons in the fifth grade, I think, and continued for a couple of years and through three teachers (we moved, one quit, and I outgrew the last). The flute came with sixth grade and middle school band.
At some point my parents acquired an organ in addition to the piano and I taught myself to play that, which was interesting. In high school I flirted with the oboe and bassoon, but didn’t really take to them very well. I gave them up altogether after reading something that claimed that double reed players suffered loss of brain cells due to oxygen deprivation (I haven’t fact-checked that since, so it could be utter nonsense). I acquired a wooden flute at a Renn Faire that has a much sweeter tone than the metal flute, but I’ve never pushed myself to really learn to play it.
Now I want to return to the ukulele, but I really need a new instrument. That poor little student uke that has been used as a “guitar” by children isn’t in perfect condition after all these years, and won’t stay in tune in addition to having some broken bits.
