What My Ukulele Taught Me

Sep 20, 2021 by Jeanette Hanscome

As many of you know, I am now the proud owner of a ukulele. I felt inspired to request one for my birthday when Nate got a 12-string guitar for his and I thought, “If he can manage twelve stings, I bet I can handle four.” I mastered my first three chords while nursing COVID vaccine side effects.

My mahogany Kala concert-sized ukulele has become my new best friend. It has also taught me something valuable that goes beyond chords and strum patterns.

Before I could feel confident with the instrument, I had to get over the hump of sore fingertips, feeling like the G chord, followed by certain other chords (yes, I am looking at you, B flat) hated me, and figuring out that I felt like a dork while playing songs that only relied on strumming because I like fingerstyle better. I am now learning simple arrangements of songs that were originally written for the lute. So see, God doesn’t waste anything, including ancient lute music. This week, my uke is at the guitar store being restrung with fluorocarbon strings. Now that’s commitment!

Each time I add a new song to my repertoire, I’m glad that I gave the ukulele a try instead of giving in to, everyone will think you’re weird for playing ukulele, and didn’t allow the G chord or the painful process of building up calluses to scare me away. Growing in my mastery of this quirky, fun, surprisingly versatile instrument has brought me joy, satisfaction, and appreciation for different forms of music. It taught me how important it is to take on an occasional challenge. One that we choose and feel excited about. The past year and a half has taught us that we have control over very little. But we can decide

What new challenges have you taken on? How have you benefitted? What has God taught you through the process of learning something new?