Talk:Ukulele - Wikipedia

This level-5 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Musical Instruments Mid‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Musical Instruments, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of musical instruments on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Musical InstrumentsWikipedia:WikiProject Musical InstrumentsTemplate:WikiProject Musical Instrumentsmusical instruments Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale. Hawaii High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Hawaii, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Hawaii on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HawaiiWikipedia:WikiProject HawaiiTemplate:WikiProject HawaiiHawaii High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

	Archives: 1, 2
	This page has archives. Sections older than 90 days may be auto-archived by Lowercase sigmabot III if there are more than 4.

Types and sizes section

[edit]

The opening paragraph lacks citations for the history of the different sizes; John King and Jim Tranquada, in their The Ukulele: a History, give those dates. The description of the different tonalities of the different sizes also needs a citation, e.g., this article (which I feel is oversimplified, but at least it's from a reputable source). --108.20.125.25 (talk) 02:20, 30 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The chart showing sizes and popular tunings has no citations, and appears to have errors. Typical length: This varies by manufacturer, e.g. for tenors it can range at least from 24" (Romero Creation Tiny Tenor) to 28" (Kamaka 8 string tenor). Standard Kamaka tenors run about 27-1/2"; if anything is "typical" in ukuleles, it would be a Kamaka. Scale length: Ukulele magazine, in an article on ukulele sizes says soprano scale length has been standardized at 13 9/16 inches. Number of frets: A quick search of retailer websites turns up ukuleles by top makers with more frets than the ranges shown in the table, e.g., Kanile'a D-1 soprano has 21 frets, aNueNue Moon Bird tenor has 21 frets. Range: This will change if number of frets is changed. Alternate tunings: Again, no citations. Missing for tenor is slack key tuning, as described here...and no, you can't list every alternate tuning, but Hawai'ian slack key tuning seems worthy of consideration (and at least I give a citation for it, unlike the other alternate tunings). --108.20.125.25 (talk) 02:20, 30 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Paniolos and Jumping Fleas-Mexican California’s Gifts to Hawaii

[edit]

https://ufohana.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Paniolos-and-Jumping-Fleas-Mexican-Californias-Gifts-to-Hawaii.pdf 2600:6C50:77F:D666:9918:A135:6A47:102D (talk) 16:39, 12 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Makers of the ukelele ?!

[edit]

why Augusto Dias, Jose do Espirito Santo and Manuel Nunes. All three were excellent craftsmen and they are credited with making the first true 'Ukuleles. Why aren´t they mentionated in the article ?! 95.95.200.23 (talk) 12:05, 14 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

They are mentioned, in the 2nd sentence of the History section. Mark Froelich (talk) 22:52, 14 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology

[edit]

An IP editor has added a paragraph claiming that the "leaping flea" derivation is a "misconception" and the name actually means "gift from afar". The reference provided is "wehewehe Hawai'ian Translation Dictionaries". I am not sure what that reference refers to; if it's a book it needs publication data, and if it's a web site it needs a URL. There is a web site named wehewehe.org which links to the four major Hawai'ian dictionaries, some of which give the "leaping flea" meaning and none of which give the "gift from afar" meaning. My edition of New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary, Pukui & Elbert, 1992, gives the "leaping flea" meaning. The web site wehewehe wikiwiki gives the "leaping flea" meaning, citing Elbert & Knowlton, 1957. Kepano's online Combined Hawai'ian Dictionary gives the "leaping flea" definition. In short, I find numerous authoritative sources that give the "leaping flea" meaning and none that give the "gift from afar" meaning. I am removing the new paragraph until the IP can provide a source at least as authoritative as these. CodeTalker (talk) 02:50, 3 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]