Strumming along: Ukulele club forms; local interest grows

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A group of area residents have banded together for their love of the ukulele.

The small four-stringed guitar of Hawaiian origin has interested so many local residents, the Last Tuesday Ukulele Club was created in Sikeston. The club, which meets monthly, makes time for attendees to listen, play -- and learn how to play.

"It's a really cool instrument that gets overlooked a lot," says Alex Mayes of Sikeston, who's played the guitar for 14 years and teaches lessons.

"... The biggest thing to me is it's a very Hawaiian instrument, but it's taken very seriously."

Years ago the ukulele, or "uke" as Mayes calls it, was looked at as more of a novelty, he says.

"It was something you'd buy for kids and didn't want to invest a lot of money in," Mayes says. "Now there are people who play solo uke concerts. Most of them are Hawaiian, but it's a huge trend that's taken off."

The club meets at 6 p.m. the last Tuesday of the month at Parengo Coffee in downtown Sikeston.

"We had the first meeting a few weeks ago. Four of the eight people had never played the ukulele before," says Devin Scott of Sikeston, who helped form the club.

Scott says he purchased his ukulele about two months ago and taught himself how to play by visiting the video-serving website YouTube. He also downloaded a phone application, which taught him about strings and chords of the instrument.

"We had an open mic night (at Parengo), and I told everyone how unbelievable it was to play," Scott says.

The result, he says, was the formation of a ukulele club.

All ages are welcome to attend club meetings, Scott notes.

"We've had someone has young as 20, and we've had some older, retired people," Scott says.

The first 30 or 45 minutes of the meeting are typically comprised of lessons to play the ukulele.

"Then the last half of it, we'll play the ukulele," Mayes says. "... At the last meeting, we knocked out three different chords."

By meeting's end, attendees were strumming along to "You Are My Sunshine," Mayes says.

"That's our main goal -- and to get people interested in the ukulele," he says.

"If anyone is curious about the ukulele, they should attend a meeting and hear it being played live", Mayes says.

Scott agrees.

"If people come in and listen, then most likely, they'll want to play -- and it's so fun to play," Scott says.

One of the reasons so many people seem to enjoy playing is because it's fairly easy to learn, Mayes says.

"It's not as difficult to play as, say, a guitar or bass," Mayes says. "The chords are so much more simple; it's a four-string format. For the most, you need one to two to three fingers to play."

Mayes says another reason he thinks the instrument has become more trendy is because actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel plays it.

It's also a fairly inexpensive hobby.

Prices of ukuleles vary, but Scott says they are not a huge investment. For example, a concert ukulele costs about $60, while a soprano ukulele costs about $40.

"I can't stress enough how much fun it is, and after about a couple weeks with it, the learning curve is met," Scott says.

The first time Ashton Schlitt of Sikeston picked up the ukulele was in June.

"The first time I ever played any instrument was in June," Schlitt says. "I have never played an instrument -- not even a recorder."

A graphic artist, Schlitt says she always pursued art and drawing as opposed to music during her school years.

"It's the most amazing thing I've ever done. It's a lot of fun," Schlitt says.

Schlitt admitted at first, she was a little scared to try playing the uke, but Scott and Mayes broke lessons down into simple terms, and she's had a lot of fun learning.

She even took to her ukulele to the beach recently and learned three new songs. So far Schlitt says she can play "You Are My Sunshine," "Creep" by Radiohead, "King of the Road" and "Ring of Fire." She's in the process of learning "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)."

"It's going good so far," says Schlitt, who attended last month's ukulele club meeting. "We have a nice group of people and coming together for one thing."

Her advice to beginners?

"Don't be intimidated by it," Schlitt said. "It's definitely not as difficult as it seems."

Mayes says he's overheard Scott tell others learning to play the ukulele was the best decision he's ever made.

"It makes him super happy and he can sit and play whenever he wants," Mayes says.

Scott agrees.

"I'm a music person anyway," Scott says. "I have my ukulele with me all the time because it's so small, I can carry around and play it anywhere."

For more information about the club, attend an upcoming meeting or email lasttuesdayukulele@gmail.com.