Ukulele History as a History of Woods
The history of the ukulele is quite literally a history of woods. The ukulele was introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants in the 1880s. They brought a Portuguese instrument called the machete to the island, and the Hawaiians renamed it the "ukulele" which literally translates to "jumping flea." There are several theories about the name, and my personal favorite is that "ukulele" was a nickname for an English officer who himself resembled a jumping flea, and also played the machete.
But the ukuleles that people got to know and love in the 20th century were different from the Portuguese machetes played by Officer Jumping-Flea. The machetes often had softwood tops, such as pine or spruce, like guitars. Those soft woods grew on the Portuguese island of Madeira, but Hawaii's tropical ecosystem is different. Hawaii is home to many hardwoods, including koa, a tree in the acacia family. This wood was abundant in Hawaii at the time, and it is also one of earth's most good-looking woods. So they started making ukuleles out of koa. It was available, easy to work with, and attractive.
In the early 20th century, the Martin Guitar Company in Pennsylvania became interested in making ukuleles, as there was a lot of demand for them. (A few years ago, Martin recorded a video on the history of their ukuleles. If this interests you, I highly recommend watching it.) They used Hawaiian koa ukuleles as their blueprint for how they were supposed to sound and feel. They originally started making ukuleles that were more like the original Portuguese machetes, as spruce is a very accessible wood in the northeastern USA.
But after building a few, they decided to stop, because they didn't sound or feel enough like the Hawaiian ukuleles. They lacked a certain x-factor in the sound, but it wasn't just that. Because spruce is a soft wood, it needs support - aka bracing - for it to stay sturdy, and in order to keep it from vibrating too much and sounding distorted. (You also, of course, have to make sure that you don't brace it so much that it sounds too muted. Some players criticize Martin tenor ukuleles from the 1940s and 50s for being over-braced, for example.) Martin thought that the bracing needed in spruce-topped ukuleles made them a bit heavier than was ideal. It seems that they liked how light the Hawaiian ukuleles were and didn't want to mess with a good thing.
So Martin, who would become arguably the most important ukulele maker in the world during the ukulele's early 20th-century heyday, decided to make ukuleles out of hardwoods. They made them out of acacia koa, but also out of a hard tropical wood that was easier to get in the northeastern USA: mahogany. (Side note: it's also relevant that, during World War II, a lot of American spruce was appropriated for the war effort.)
For many years - for the years that were truly the heyday of ukuleles - acacia and mahogany woods defined the construction and sound of ukuleles. But those years are already far behind us. Acacia and mahogany are still very common, and are still among the most popular woods for ukuleles, but they have competition.
In the past few decades, synthetic or partially-synthetic materials such as polystyrene, laminate wood, and carbon fiber have become relevant materials for ukes. Perhaps more noticeably, softwoods came back in style, first as a top material for the more guitar-like baritone ukulele, and then for ukuleles of all sizes. North American and Northern European woods have started to see more action - cedar, redwood, myrtle and maple are not uncommon in ukes now. Ukuleles are also sometimes marketed toward guitar players these days, which means that they often lack traditional friction tuners and have spruce tops, both to create a more guitar-like sound and also, most likely, to provide a comforting guitar-like appearance.
While it seems silly to associate one wood or another with authenticity in a ukulele (doing so brings up the old "chair problem" in philosophy, in addition to the problems with the concept of authenticity itself), I think that the history of ecological environments, and of wood in particular, is an important part of ukulele history. Ukulele makers have always used a variety of woods, but I can't stop thinking about the fact that the uke's heyday was also the era when they were made nearly-exclusively of hardwoods.
Those hardwoods gave the ukes tangible qualities like physical ultra-lightness, interesting dark grain patterns on the top (especially with koa), and a compressed "loud but small" sound. They also, I think, gave ukes a certain "x-factor" that can't be explained by those tangibles.
You can play ukuleles without knowing anything about wood. I did for several years. It didn't hurt me. But if you ever consider buying a ukulele other than whatever you find off the shelf at your local music store, I think it's good to take a cue from Larry David, and respect wood.
But the ukuleles that people got to know and love in the 20th century were different from the Portuguese machetes played by Officer Jumping-Flea. The machetes often had softwood tops, such as pine or spruce, like guitars. Those soft woods grew on the Portuguese island of Madeira, but Hawaii's tropical ecosystem is different. Hawaii is home to many hardwoods, including koa, a tree in the acacia family. This wood was abundant in Hawaii at the time, and it is also one of earth's most good-looking woods. So they started making ukuleles out of koa. It was available, easy to work with, and attractive.
In the early 20th century, the Martin Guitar Company in Pennsylvania became interested in making ukuleles, as there was a lot of demand for them. (A few years ago, Martin recorded a video on the history of their ukuleles. If this interests you, I highly recommend watching it.) They used Hawaiian koa ukuleles as their blueprint for how they were supposed to sound and feel. They originally started making ukuleles that were more like the original Portuguese machetes, as spruce is a very accessible wood in the northeastern USA.
But after building a few, they decided to stop, because they didn't sound or feel enough like the Hawaiian ukuleles. They lacked a certain x-factor in the sound, but it wasn't just that. Because spruce is a soft wood, it needs support - aka bracing - for it to stay sturdy, and in order to keep it from vibrating too much and sounding distorted. (You also, of course, have to make sure that you don't brace it so much that it sounds too muted. Some players criticize Martin tenor ukuleles from the 1940s and 50s for being over-braced, for example.) Martin thought that the bracing needed in spruce-topped ukuleles made them a bit heavier than was ideal. It seems that they liked how light the Hawaiian ukuleles were and didn't want to mess with a good thing.
So Martin, who would become arguably the most important ukulele maker in the world during the ukulele's early 20th-century heyday, decided to make ukuleles out of hardwoods. They made them out of acacia koa, but also out of a hard tropical wood that was easier to get in the northeastern USA: mahogany. (Side note: it's also relevant that, during World War II, a lot of American spruce was appropriated for the war effort.)
For many years - for the years that were truly the heyday of ukuleles - acacia and mahogany woods defined the construction and sound of ukuleles. But those years are already far behind us. Acacia and mahogany are still very common, and are still among the most popular woods for ukuleles, but they have competition.
In the past few decades, synthetic or partially-synthetic materials such as polystyrene, laminate wood, and carbon fiber have become relevant materials for ukes. Perhaps more noticeably, softwoods came back in style, first as a top material for the more guitar-like baritone ukulele, and then for ukuleles of all sizes. North American and Northern European woods have started to see more action - cedar, redwood, myrtle and maple are not uncommon in ukes now. Ukuleles are also sometimes marketed toward guitar players these days, which means that they often lack traditional friction tuners and have spruce tops, both to create a more guitar-like sound and also, most likely, to provide a comforting guitar-like appearance.
While it seems silly to associate one wood or another with authenticity in a ukulele (doing so brings up the old "chair problem" in philosophy, in addition to the problems with the concept of authenticity itself), I think that the history of ecological environments, and of wood in particular, is an important part of ukulele history. Ukulele makers have always used a variety of woods, but I can't stop thinking about the fact that the uke's heyday was also the era when they were made nearly-exclusively of hardwoods.
Those hardwoods gave the ukes tangible qualities like physical ultra-lightness, interesting dark grain patterns on the top (especially with koa), and a compressed "loud but small" sound. They also, I think, gave ukes a certain "x-factor" that can't be explained by those tangibles.
You can play ukuleles without knowing anything about wood. I did for several years. It didn't hurt me. But if you ever consider buying a ukulele other than whatever you find off the shelf at your local music store, I think it's good to take a cue from Larry David, and respect wood.
Comments
Post a Comment