I'm sure they're very proficient in their areas of expertise, but it wasn't really helpful to me.

I didn't have these teachers for very long, and I didn't learn very much from them. Later I had a mandolin instructor who kept telling me instruments and performers I liked weren't real mandolins and mandolin players. There are what teachers call 'best practices' and techniques to play the ukulele better, but I think it's all a lot less rigid than, say, guitar instruction (which, by your description, your teacher almost sounds like a guitar instructor who teaches ukulele).Īs a kid, I briefly had a classical guitar teacher who couldn't really teach me what I wanted to learn, partly because it was outside his narrow expertise. I'm not an authority, but having had some lessons in other chordophones, the ukulele is a really informal instrument. I don't have long nail on thumb because I use thumb on jazz music.) (I have long nails on my index middle, and 4th finger because it's easier to pick and the flamenco technique is easier that way. I also use thumb and index together but if I use thumb and index together, I often wear a thumb pick to add more volume to the bass string. But sometimes, I like to pick with only the thumb or strum depends on styles of music for example: jazz. He combined the two together and create his own style of playing the melody and harmony SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Kimo's way of playing the ukulele is to play the bass string (Kimo used Low G) with the thumb and pick the melody with his index.

That's his way of playing the ukulele just like the ukulele master Ohta - San using only thumb with long nail. That thumb and index technique belongs to Kimo. If he 'hides' the way he play the ukulele, he would still be a great ukulele player. He's a very nice man and play the ukulele mostly 'his' way. Kimo Hussey's playing technique and style is very unique.

Ukulele ten thumbs