The Simon Fairfield Public Library had a packed house on May 18 as Julie Stepanak led 27 strummers of all ages in learning the basics of playing a ukulele. The program was so successful that the library is purchasing 10 ‘ukes’ for circulation and is planning to ramp up an ongoing strummer’s group once they arrive.
Ukuleles are a perfect instrument for libraries or any other public venue for group playing. The biggest hurdle when considering an instrument is often cost, and ukuleles are cheap compared to other instruments. Their small size and light
weight makes them easy to travel with. The strings are soft and the chords are
simple, so your fingers won’t fall off from the effort of learning to play. And most importantly, they are easy on the ears even in the hands of a novice. A library where a dozen people are learning to play the ukulele is still a nice place to be. Violins, not so much.