Whether you're going to a local Bar-B-que or traveling to a distant place this upcoming holiday weekend, take a uke or two with you! It's the perfect instrument for special get togethers and usually brings a smile to nearly everyone who sees it.
I thought I'd offer some tips on traveling with a ukulele. If you are flying, or planning on getting to your destination in a very tightly packed car, get a hard shell case. A gig bag won't protect your instrument from being stacked on in an overhead compartment of a plane nor being sandwiched and piled on in the back of your car. And speaking of the car, if you need to stop and grab a bite to eat, be certain to take your uke in the eatery with you.
Never leave an instrument in the car as he heat inside the car can damage your uke, and if it can be seen by someone peeking in your car window while you're ordering inside it can lead to your car being broken into. On a lighter note, memorizing "Happy Birthday" and taking your uke with you in the diner might lead to you getting a request for someone celebrating theirs, and you may get a tip out of it!
Be sure to pack up a travel bag for your uke as well- extra strings, batteries for your clip on tuner, a strap or two if you use one, polish, a polishing cloth, string cutter, and for you, fingernail clippers and a nail file. Add some sunscreen, lip balm (with sunscreen in it!) and hand cream as well. And perhaps a few hats.
If you're just popping in locally, and you have more than one uke, take one that sounds good but isn't a collectable, and leave the high quality one at home. Accidents can happen at gatherings. For my playing away from home I have a couple of ukes to choose from. One is the travel concert uke made by Flight, and the other is a soprano uke made by Kala. While I wouldn't want either to get damaged, if they did, they were inexpensive to buy and easily replaced. And for local trips, still take a spare tuner battery and strings. You just never know. And yes, a gig bag will do fine for a local trip in the car.
Will other uke players, guitarists, etc be at the get together? Be sure to ask ahead of time and if so. ask them to bring their instruments so you all can jam and have a blast.
And above all, be safe this Memorial weekend.
I thought I'd offer some tips on traveling with a ukulele. If you are flying, or planning on getting to your destination in a very tightly packed car, get a hard shell case. A gig bag won't protect your instrument from being stacked on in an overhead compartment of a plane nor being sandwiched and piled on in the back of your car. And speaking of the car, if you need to stop and grab a bite to eat, be certain to take your uke in the eatery with you.
Never leave an instrument in the car as he heat inside the car can damage your uke, and if it can be seen by someone peeking in your car window while you're ordering inside it can lead to your car being broken into. On a lighter note, memorizing "Happy Birthday" and taking your uke with you in the diner might lead to you getting a request for someone celebrating theirs, and you may get a tip out of it!
Be sure to pack up a travel bag for your uke as well- extra strings, batteries for your clip on tuner, a strap or two if you use one, polish, a polishing cloth, string cutter, and for you, fingernail clippers and a nail file. Add some sunscreen, lip balm (with sunscreen in it!) and hand cream as well. And perhaps a few hats.
If you're just popping in locally, and you have more than one uke, take one that sounds good but isn't a collectable, and leave the high quality one at home. Accidents can happen at gatherings. For my playing away from home I have a couple of ukes to choose from. One is the travel concert uke made by Flight, and the other is a soprano uke made by Kala. While I wouldn't want either to get damaged, if they did, they were inexpensive to buy and easily replaced. And for local trips, still take a spare tuner battery and strings. You just never know. And yes, a gig bag will do fine for a local trip in the car.
Will other uke players, guitarists, etc be at the get together? Be sure to ask ahead of time and if so. ask them to bring their instruments so you all can jam and have a blast.
And above all, be safe this Memorial weekend.
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