Aloha all my cyber ‘ohana! I have been ‘uking around’ lately and thought I’d post some links to some ukulele pages for you. I also recently, after a long delay, finished building my own cigar box ukulele and I will finish up part 3 of my How to Build a Cigar Box Ukulele series of posts.
Below are some links to my other more detailed uke pages.
Henehene Kou ‘Aka is one of my favorite songs to play on ‘ukulele. Everything I have seen so far refers to this as a “traditional” song, so I assume it is in the public domain. Brother IZ did some great covers of it which appear on his Facing Future, IZ in Concert and Alone in IZ World albums. It’s great fun and they lyrics are, I think, better in Hawaiian than in the English translation. I have provided both below. In short, it’s a story of boyfriend and girlfriend going for a date on the streetcar in Honolulu.
There’s more ‘ukulele stuff on my ‘ukulele page. Check it out.
A PDF is also available to download.
Hawaiian Lyrics
Henehene ko aka, kou le`ale`a paha
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
Ka`a uila makeneki, ho `oni`oni kou kino
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
I Waikiki makou, `au anai ke kai
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
I Kapahulu makou, `ai ana lipoa
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
I Kaka`ako makou, `ai ana i ka pipi stew
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
Our eyes have met, our lips not yet
Palama pono kou kino, I’m gonna get you yet
Haina mai ka puana, kou le `ale `a paha
He mea ma`a mau ia, for you and I
English Translation
Your laughter is so contagious
It’s fun to be with you
Always a good time
For you and I
The streetcar wheels turn
Vibrating your body
Always a good time
For you and I
To Kaka`ako we go
Eating beef stew
Always a good time
For you and I
To Waikiki we go
Swimming in the sea
Always a good time
For you and I
To Kapahulu we go
Eating seaweed
Always a good time
For you and I
Tell the refrain
It’s fun to be with you}
Always a good time}
For you and I
OK, here are some pictures of progress I have made so far on my cigar box ukulele. (Click here for the completion, Part 3.)
In this photo I have removed the top cover of the cigar box. I removed it so that I can have full access to the inside of the box for additional work such as reinforcement by adding braces to the perimeter on the top and bottom. Also the lid will be easier to work with separated from the main body of the box for such things as cutting out the sound hole and adding the bridge plate and top braces.
And this shot shows the gluing in of the perimeter braces. Thank God for clothes pins.
And finally, here I am installing end blocks for both the tail and neck ends.
I’ve been collecting parts for quite a while now and the Cigar Box ‘ukulele project is just about set to kick off. Below is my parts list that I created after reading some books on DIY cigar box projects and reviewing way too many articles at the cool site, www.cigarboxnation.com. Anyway, stay tuned as I post some pictures of my progress on this in coming days/weeks.
The “XX” in the list are for those items that I have already obtained. Just a couple things left to get!
XX Cigar box
XX Neck and fretboard, concert length
XX Tuning posts
XX Braces, Soundboard, Pine or Spruce, 1/4 x 1/2″ x 4′
XX Braces, Box, Pine or Spruce, 1/4 x 1/4″ x 8′
XX Bridge Plate, Maple, 1/8 x 2 x 6″
XX Thin wood – balsa for pickup sandwich
XX Bridge, Concert
XX Nut and saddle, Bone
XX Piezo pickup, wire and jack
XX Quarter (drill for washer for jack). Use Canada 2$ piece.
Brass bathtub drain strainer for resonator
XX Wood glue
XX Hole saw, 2.0 inches
XX Clamps
XX Strings (Aquila high g Concert)
XX Large rubber bands–Office Depot
XX TiteBond glue
XX Tung oil
XX Fine grit sandpaper
XX Steel wool
Clear Satin spray lacquer
Please Click here to check out my music! Thanks! 🙂
