Introducing Ethel

Practicing my Clawhammer technique on Ethel.

Ethel is my new ukulele. My good friend B accompanied me to Ross-on-Wye a few weeks before Christmas, and after much strumming and plucking I was parted from my birthday money (and a bit more) and emerged from the wonderful Ross Music Centre with this little beauty. She's made of maple wood, is very pretty and has a gorgeous, mellow tone.

My first ukulele – the bright blue Plastic Fantastic – was a soprano and I had every intention of replacing her with another soprano-sized one, as I'd grown used to the fret spacing.  B, however, strongly advised me to 'upgrade' to the slightly larger Concert uke and the guy in the shop echoed her sentiments, so they won the day.

There was, however, one problem with Ethel and that was that the strings were set rather too high above the fret board. Consequently, I was having to press the strings hard against the frets to get a clear sound, which was doing my ageing fingers no good at all. This fairly common problem with new ukuleles is corrected by reducing the height of the bridge.

Angie and the Plastic Fantastic at the Rugby World Cup
in Gloucester

Now call me a whimp if you must, but having spent £130 on a new ukulele, I was most reluctant to attempt the job of filing down the bridge. Fortunately, though, I've just restarted Advanced Ukulele Lessons on Wednesday evenings and Matt, our expert tutor, offered to do the work for a very modest charge.  He returned Ethel to me last week, and oh what a difference! Not only had the bridge height been reduced, but he also shaved a bit off the nut (top of the fret board), so now she's perfect.

There remains, however, one problem. I've lost count of the times I was complimented for the way my favourite blue cardigan matched my ukulele. Wood-coloured cardigans don't really suit my complexion, but the temptation to get one may yet prove irresistible!

The consequence of all this is that the trusty Plastic Fantastic has been relegated to the status of 'spare'. But she was my first love and will for ever hold a place in my affections. Together we mastered the rudiments of ukulele playing, and she's definitely not for sale.