1. Where do you live?

2. How did you get started with the ukulele?

3. I'm just starting out; can you recommend a good beginner ukulele?

4. Can you recommend a uke teacher in my area?

5. I've been playing for a little while and want to get a better uke. Any suggestions?

6. Who are your favourite ukulele performers?

7. Where can I find your first and second CDs?

8. What tuning(s) do you use?

9. What kind of strings do you use?

10. Do you give lessons?

11. Have you written any instructional ukulele books?

12. What about a book for teachers?

Where do you live?

I live in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, about an hour's drive from Halifax.

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How did you get started on the ukulele?

Since the 1960s, many schools across Canada have used the ukulele to teach music at the elementary level. Click here to read more about J. Chalmers Doane, the founder of the Canadian ukulele program.

I grew up in Langley, British Columbia where I attended Belmont Elementary School from kindergarten to grade 7. In grade 4, I started ukulele along with everyone else; the inimitable Jamie Thomas, a pupil of Mr. Doane's, was our teacher. Jamie still teaches ukulele at Belmont school.

Langley is a special place when it comes to ukulele. For over 30 years, the Langley Ukulele Association (LUA) has supported extra-curricular uke groups which allow interested students to continue with ukulele well beyond the requisite two years of classroom instruction. Click here to learn more about the LUA and it's top performing group, the Langley Ukulele Ensemble.

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I'm just starting out - can you recommend a good beginner ukulele?

Good-quality beginner instruments include the Flea and Fluke ukuleles made in the USA by the Magic Fluke Company. These are popular ukes that come in many colours, sound good and are very durable. Other good-quality, affordable brands are Kala Ukuleles and Ohana Ukuleles (just don't get the really cheap colourful ones... they'll cost you more in the long run!).

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Can you recommend a uke teacher in my area?

First step: check the JHUI Teacher Directory. Every teacher on the this worldwide map has completed at least one level of the JHUI Teacher Certification Program. You might also check the Flea Market Music Player Directory. Find your location, check if there are other players in your area and contact those people to ask about teachers. There's nothing like local knowledge!

If that doesn't work, I would suggest posting your request on either the Flea Market Music Bulletin Board or the Ukulele Underground Bulletin Board.

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I've been playing for a little while and want to get a better uke. Any suggestions?

When you're ready to upgrade to a hand-made instrument, I highly recommend the following brands.  I am not endorsed by any of these companies but I can personally vouch for the quality of their instruments (and the fact that they're all run by really good people!):

• DaSilva Ukulele Co.

• Pat Megowan Stringed Instruments

• Beansprout Musical Instruments

• Pepe Romero Ukuleles

• Talsma String Instruments

• Tony Graziano Ukuleles

• Hive Ukuleles

• Oceana Ukuleles

And if you're looking specifically for "that Hawaiian sound" you can't go wrong with one (or more) of the four K's: Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile`a and Ko'olau.

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Who are your favourite ukulele performers?

Over the years my biggest ukulele influences have been Troy Fernandez, Ohta-San, J. Chalmers Doane, John King and Kimo Hussey.

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Where can I find your first and second CDs?

My first two albums Playing it like it isn't... and On the Other Hand are are both completely out of print (at least for the time being). That said, used copies sometimes turn up on the Flea Market Music Marketplace or eBay.

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What tuning(s) do you use?

This used to be an easy question to answer. I grew up playing in D6 tuning (a, d, f#, b) with a low A string like all students of the Doane ukulele method. It wasn't until my late-teens that I started to fool around with other tunings. Nowadays I travel with up to four ukes: two DaSilva tenors (one with a high 4th string and another with a low 4th string), my Mya-Moe slide ukulele which I tune either a, d, g, b or g, c, f, a depending on the song, and my Mya-Moe banjo ukulele which I always have in high 4th tuning.  A number of tunes on The Old Silo were written on one of two baritone ukuleles: a Mya-Moe acoustic tuned d, g, b, e (with a high D string) and a Ko'olau solid-body tuned b, e, b, e (with a high b string).  The latter is a tuning I stumbled across and fell in love with during pre-production for The Old Silo.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both low 4th string tuning (a.k.a. "linear" tuning) and high 4th string tuning (a.k.a. "re-entrant" tuning); otherwise I'd just travel with one ukulele and forget about it. Re-entrant tuning is great for vocal accompaniment, jazz chording, and campanella-style playing (à la John King). Linear tuning is better for ensemble melody picking, classroom instruction, lead picking and solo arrangements that involve moving bass lines. Different tools, same tool kit.

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What kind of strings do you use?

I use a custom set of strings put together by Mike DaSilva. I've also used (and recommend) Hilo strings which are made in Hawaii by the Pegasus Guitar Company. I use Aquila strings on my banjo ukes and Martin steel strings on my Mya-Moe slide ukulele. For my ukes that use the "linear" (i.e. low-4th) tuning, I use a D'Addario 0.040 gauge (or higher) nylon string for the 4th string.

I'm not sponsored by any of these companies, I just like their strings.

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Do you give lessons?

I've created a number of unique, online ukulele courses at www.uketropolis.com and I warmly invite you to join me or any or all of them:

• Peace like an 'ukulele (FREE)

• Ready, Steady, UKULELE! ($1)

• Booster Uke

• The Ukulele Way

• Ukulele Jazz

• UkuleleX

I also have many free lessons available on my YouTube channel.

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Have you written any instructional ukulele books?

Yes. Chalmers Doane and I co-authored the free e-book series Ukulele in the Classroom. The idea is simple: music literacy via ukulele. Basically, it's fun and it works. If you're interested visit the website: www.ukuleleintheclassroom.com.

For individual learners there's Uketropolis which features a library of unique, online ukulele courses. Join in the fun at www.uketropolis.com!

Also, there's the Doane Ukulele Method which has been a cornerstone of the Canadian ukulele program for 50 years. It includes three books for students (currently available in D6 tuning only):

1. Classroom Ukulele Method (J. C. Doane): Dozens of practical lessons and songs.

2. A Music Reading Program for Ukulele (M. Shields): A methodical, sequential approach to note reading.

3. Ukulele Encore (J. C. Doane): A book of repertoire including both vocal and instrumental selections.

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What about a book for teachers?

In my view, Chalmers Doane's best book is his Teacher's Guide to Classroom Ukulele. First published in 1977, it's organized into two sections:

1. A lesson-by-lesson guide for teachers using Classroom Ukulele Method.

2. A priceless collection of practical tips for making your ukulele program a success.

Also, each volume of the the Ukulele in the Classroom series includes a Teacher Edition. In the Teacher Editions each lesson features key teaching strategies, suggested arrangements, answer keys, follow-up questions and activities, additional comments from the authors, suggestions for extension and enrichment, learning outcomes and more. Click here to buy the e-book.

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James Hill has come a long way from that fateful day in fouth-grade music class. A seasoned performer with a fan base in North America, Asia and Europe, he has garnered wide acclaim for his ground-breaking approach to a chronically-underestimated instrument. Over the course of his first three genre-defying albums – Playing it like it isn’t... (2002), On the Other Hand (2003) and A Flying Leap (2006) – he re-wrote every rule that had previously kept the ukulele in the realm of novelty and obscurity. Then came the Canadian-Folk-Music-Award-winning True Love Don’t Weep (2009), his collaboration with cellist/singer Anne Janelle Davison, an album that pushed the budding singer/songwriter into new territory, topped folk radio charts in North America and opened doors to festival stages across the continent.

Man With a Love Song (2011), reached a new plateau yet again. “An album for troubled times," wrote TRAD magazine, "joie de vivre, tenderness and musical perfection." “Stellar," proclaimed Exlaim! Magazine, "A fantastic album from a man who makes songwriting seem effortless.” Seemingly overnight, Hill had made the delicate transition from instrumentalist to songwriter.

A singer, songwriter, educator and virtuoso instrumentalist, James Hill is a man on a musical mission. It's a mission that reaches beyond the concert stage and into communities, homes and classrooms around the world. After all, when the applause fades and the stage goes dark you can still hear the sound of ukuleles strumming happily into the night...