Stories and interviews
128 posts
Ukulele meetup – 10 August 2017
Tamás GállI would like to invite you to a ukulele meetup on Thursday, 10 August 2017, starting at 5:30 p.m. – arriving later is fine – in Budapest, very close to Puskás Ferenc Stadium. The exact address is Kerepesi út 26. We will finish at around 8:00-8:30 p.m., or earlier if everyone leaves, and later if we…
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Ukulele Christmas
Tamás GállI received a kind request from Ben, who devotes his life to playing the ukulele and travelling . He has just made a Christmas ukulele album and asked me to write my opinion of it. I was happy to oblige. He sent me the album as a Christmas present, I listened to it, and I can say nothing but good thi…
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Four Strings, Five Years
Tamás GállDear Ukulele Players! Please allow me a little nostalgia in this year's final blog post, because exactly five years ago, on 30 December 2010, the Hungaria Ukulele Blog was launched. Happy fifth birthday! :) :) Five years may not be long enough for truly monumental nostalgia, but it is still a milest…
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Thoughts of a Ukulele Player
Tamás Gáll“So I bought the ukulele. I wonder whether it will sound good. I hope the strings are all right too. Hopefully they will settle quickly and tuning will not be a problem. Will the factory setup work, or will something need filing after a few weeks?” ...a few months pass... “An electro-acoustic one wo…
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Pink Martini
Tamás GállThis unusually named band is twenty years old this year, and I am sorry that I discovered them only recently. (In an earlier ukulele test post — KALA KA-S — I strum along to one of their best-known songs.) The group was founded in 1994 by a rather over-animated pianist, and they have been performing…
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The Youngest Padawan
Tamás GállDear Ukulele Players! A new love entered my life a few days ago, which is why I have not been able to make fresh posts or videos. My little daughter was born. She has no idea yet how much fun playing the ukulele is, but I hope she will find out soon! I did not put her hand there - it happened comple…
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Size Doesn't Matter II
Tamás GállLast year I already posted a similar article with two videos. Now here is another unmissable recording featuring a mini ukulele about the size of a matchbox and the enormous, roughly concert-to-tenor-sized ukulele accompanying it :). A barre covering all four strings can be held with roughly one to…
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Three Years of Outtakes
Tamás GállAs the end of the year approaches, besides football my other favourite kind of sports programme starts appearing on television: the compilation of funny sporting moments collected throughout the year, shown on Eurosport under the title WATTS. The Ukulele Blog will be three years old in a few days, a…
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Blues for Ukulele and Piano
Tamás GállToday my twin brother and I recorded the raw footage for two videos, which we are still cutting and editing. After the serious studio work came some free time, so we played a little blues. In this video the ukulele only provides the accompaniment: Sharp-eared listeners will immediately notice quite…
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If Freddie Mercury Had Owned a Ukulele...
Tamás GállYesterday afternoon I was excitedly waiting for Bea, Sanyi and Imi so that we could spend a few hours under the spell of a total of sixteen strings. The intercom rang, and moments later I was sitting in a circle with three friendly, enthusiastic ukulele players. After a quick tuning we started playi…
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The Guest from Portland II
Tamás GállA little late, perhaps, but I would like to report on another "cross-border" ukulele meeting we had at the end of August. Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Mike, Neal and Alex. We talked and played music together for a long time; they are the subject of the blog post "The Guest from Portland".…
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Paul McCartney Live in Vienna - Concert Report
Tamás GállVienna, 27 June 2013. A historic day - for us, at least, without question. We travelled to Vienna a day early, full of excitement, anticipation and, of course, countless questions. That same day we went out to see the venue, Ernst Happel Stadium. Stone footballs - for giants Our tickets, which we ha…
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