The big facts page

36 ukulele facts, all checked

Every fact on this site in one place, each linked to its source. Our build checks each one against the source text; see the sources page. Where sources disagree you’ll find each one.

The instrument and its tuning

1 The ukulele is a small guitar that comes from the machete, a four-stringed guitar brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese in the 1870s. Britannica: ukulele
2 A ukulele is seldom more than 60 cm (24 inches) long. Britannica: ukulele
3 The ukulele is tuned G–C–E–A, all in the octave around middle C. Britannica: ukulele
4 Britannica also gives a second tuning, D–F♯–A–B. Britannica: ukulele
5 A simple way to check the tuning is to strum all four strings with your thumb and sing “My dog has fleas”. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
6 The Smithsonian says checking the tuning by ear takes a well-trained ear, and many professional musicians use a chromatic tuner. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele

Chords and harmony

7 Harmony is the sound of two or more notes heard at the same time. Britannica: harmony (chords)
8 A chord is a group of notes sounded together. Britannica: harmony (chords)
9 A basic chord (a triad) is built from two thirds stacked up: C–E–G is a C major triad. Britannica: harmony (chords)
10 Adding one more third makes a seventh chord, for example C–E–G–B♭. Britannica: harmony (chords)

Tab and chord diagrams

11 Tablature (tab) is a way of writing music down by showing where the player’s fingers go, instead of notes that show rhythm and pitch. Britannica: tablature
12 Tablatures were used for lute and keyboard music in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Britannica: tablature
13 In the 20th century, ukulele and guitar music used a tablature in which a grid showed the strings and frets and dots showed where to put your fingers: the chord diagram. Britannica: tablature

The name

14 Britannica says the name ukulele is Hawaiian for “flea”. Britannica: ukulele
15 In Hawaiian, ʻuku means flea and lele means to jump. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
16 The Smithsonian gives three possible explanations for the name: jumping fleas, jumping men, or a gift from afar. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
17 One idea is that players’ fingers jump so quickly across the fretboard that they look like jumping fleas. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
18 Another idea is that after the 123-day voyage of the SS Ravenscrag a musician burst into a jumpy song and dance that reminded people of leaping fleas. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
19 Queen Liliʻuokalani read uku as “gift”, giving the meaning “a gift that came from afar”. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele

History

20 The ukulele is a Hawaiian instrument, but it grew out of Portuguese instruments: the machete do braça, the braguinha, the rajão and the cavaquinho. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
21 The first ukulele makers in Hawaiʻi were men from Madeira, who came on the ship SS Ravenscrag in 1879 to work on the sugar plantations. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
22 A cabinet maker, Miguel Nunes, opened the first ukulele workshop in Honolulu in 1880. Augusto Dias and Jose do Espirito Santo later opened workshops too. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
23 Queen Liliʻuokalani considered the ukulele the national instrument of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in the late 1800s. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
24 Queen Liliʻuokalani wrote the famous song “Aloha ʻOe”. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
25 Americans first met the ukulele at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: the great 1915 ukulele craze
26 The ukulele became famous around the world after the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
27 The 1915 exposition celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and had over 17 million visitors. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
28 As many as 34,000 people a day are estimated to have visited the small Hawaiian Building at the 1915 exposition. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: the great 1915 ukulele craze
29 The banjo ukulele was created in early 1916, to meet the demand for a louder ukulele. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: the great 1915 ukulele craze
30 In the 20th century the ukulele was played in Europe and the United States as a jazz and solo instrument. Britannica: ukulele
31 Players have shown that the ukulele has a broad range and can be played in almost any style of music. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: 5 things you probably didn’t know about the ‘ukulele
32 Today the ukulele is loved because it is fairly easy to play, easy to carry and has a light-hearted sound. Smithsonian National Museum of American History: the great 1915 ukulele craze

At school in England

33 At Key Stage 1 in England, pupils should be taught to “play tuned and untuned instruments musically”. Department for Education: national curriculum in England, music programmes of study
34 At Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to “play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression”. Department for Education: national curriculum in England, music programmes of study
35 At Key Stage 2, pupils should also be taught to “use and understand staff and other musical notations”. Department for Education: national curriculum in England, music programmes of study
36 At Key Stage 3, pupils should be taught to “use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately”. Department for Education: national curriculum in England, music programmes of study