Ukulele gains popularity in schools
Even parents are trying their hand at the Hawaiian instrument.
Many parents dread the day their child brings home a recorder from school - it signals the start of a period when peace at home will broken by high-pitched whistles, as the young novice tries to master the instrument.
But thanks to the growing popularity of the ukulele in Hong Kong schools, an increasing number of parents are finding that they can sit back and listen to the strains of an instrument associated with the palm-fringed beaches of Hawaii instead.
The ukulele is arguably Hong Kong's fastest growing choice of musical instrument, and schoolchildren, parents, and even grandparents are signing up for lessons.
The instrument, a member of the guitar family which was created in Hawaii as an adaptation of the Portuguese machete, was relatively unheard of here six years ago, says Sam Cheung Ka-sing, of the Hong Kong Ukulele Association.
Many thought of it as a novelty instrument, or mistook it for a toy guitar with four strings.
"When we first started to promote the ukulele in Hong Kong, people thought it was a little guitar, or even a violin," says Cheung, who founded the association in 2009, and also runs a ukulele shop and school in Tsim Sha Tsui.
"Hardly anyone knew what it was. But Hongkongers' interest in the ukulele has really surged in the past few years, especially with the rise of pop stars like G.E.M. [Tang Chi-kei] and Robynn & Kendy, who play it."
"When I first started playing, I was so excited by this instrument. It is so small but sounds so good. Now it's really popular, and almost everyone knows what it is," adds Cheung.
Hits featuring the ukulele by stars such as Jason Mraz and Bruno Mars, and the rise of online tutorials, have also helped reinvent it into something cool and accessible, while YouTube sensation Jake Shimabukuro has proved it to be a serious instrument capable of being played at an advanced level.
Cheung began playing the ukulele in 2006, and says international schools in Hong Kong adopted the instrument around three years ago, often as an alternative to the recorder.
The trend has recently spread to local schools, with the help of events such as the Strum One, Strum All ukulele jam.
In June, more than 100 children aged five to 16, plus teachers and professional musicians, took part in one of the city's biggest ukulele gatherings. It was the culmination of a four-month education programme organised by Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, which involved recruiting teachers from schools and leaders from youth groups to learn the ukulele.
It's incredibly easy to start, and after a few hours, you sound like you are making music
These new musicians passed their skills on to children in their schools and youth groups with the help of donated ukuleles.
Karen Chan, a teacher at the STFA Lee Kam Primary School in Tuen Mun, took part, along with a group of year three, four and five students. "I loved the idea of sharing this little instrument with the students. It is such a relaxing instrument, and it's really enjoyable for them to play," she says.
"The students loved it and loved performing. They were so into it and kept bringing it to school, even on days when we were not rehearsing. They were so cute and wanted to share it with the other students. All the other kids were super interested, too. With other instruments, you have to practise rigorously and be focused. But you can play songs with just four chords and can sit and jam with other students on a ukulele."
Chan says the experience had been so positive that the school plans to continue teaching the ukulele next year, and hopes to get the children to take part in performances and competitions.
Music teacher Charlie McLean has been teaching the ukulele to children in primary five and six at Clearwater Bay School since he moved to Hong Kong last year from Vietnam.
He also runs an after-school ukulele club, which is so popular it is over-subscribed.
McLean sees the ukulele as a great way of broadening children's musical horizons - especially in Asia where many children are encouraged to learn the piano or violin.
"I started teaching it in Vietnam because I wanted to give the students as many musical opportunities as possible," says McLean.
"It is incredibly easy to start, and after a few hours, you sound like you are making music. That doesn't happen with a violin.
"I like the idea of it being simple, because it makes it so accessible to children. But it is still a serious instrument, and there are virtuoso players such as Jake Shimabukuro.
"My mum played ukulele, but only in a jokey way. It's always been perceived as a novelty. Teaching it has become my favourite part of the curriculum because it is so immediate. The children get a feeling of success so quickly," says McLean.
A ukulele is reasonably cheap compared with other instruments, with prices starting at HK$300, says Cheung.
Each month the ukulele association teaches about 300 students, aged between five and 65. Cheung sells more than a thousand instruments a year, compared to just a handful back in 2009, he says.
"Two or three years ago, it used to be just adults and young adults, but now we are seeing more and more younger children wanting to learn.
"A lot of children want to learn the guitar or a similar instrument but they find it so difficult because the tension of the strings is so hard. They get very frustrated.
"But children as young as four or five are very comfortable with the ukulele, and within a couple of weeks they can play a couple of songs."
Sometimes parents and children would come in and both buy an instrument so they can learn together, Cheung says.
But not everyone has been won over by the sound of the ukulele. Hew Winter, a year five student in McLean's after-school ukulele club, says his parents think "it's so annoying".
