Kiwi Ukulele: The New Zealand Ukulele Companion
Dickison, Mike

Paperback  56 pages  11/2008  $19.99 
978-0-9582829-8-7
AUT Media

This book tells a new ukulele player how to select and tune an instrument, the fingerings for all the chords, fancy strums, how to arrange favorite songs for the ukulele, and tips for playing it in groups and in public. Lots of ukulele books can teach you how to play "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"; this one also teaches you "Pokarekare Ana" and "Death and the Maiden". Contents include: The parts of a ukulele; Choosing a ukulele; How to hold your ukulele; Strings and restringing; Tuning; Accessories; Strumming; Fancy strums; Tricky D and Rotten Old E; The chords you need; The bottom fingerboard; The parts of a chord; Chord progressions; Transposing; Percussive effects; Other instruments; Playing in groups; Assembling music books; Copyright; Writing out chords; Memorising a piece, and tips for practising; Performance tips; Recording yourself; Traditional Kiwi songs; Old ukulele-group favourites; Contemporary Kiwi songs. Illustrated with diagrams, chord fingering, music and tabulature. Comes with free pull-out chord chart. Mike posts audio files, songs, and free song templates on his website Kiwi Ukulele (http://www.kiwiukulele.co.nz).
		

“This book has extremely clear and attractive diagrams which make using it interesting and enjoyable. The author knows about music, and communicating, and ukulele playing, and has obtained information, tips, and opinions from a range of well-known ukulele musicians. Conveys not just the ‘how‘ of ukulele playing, but also something of the affection, reasons for enthusiasm, and craziness which are often present in the ukulele world. Worth getting for the beautifully information-rich drawings and diagrams alone.” 
— George Hinchcliffe, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

“Finally, a beginner’s ukulele book that I can wholeheartedly recommend. I’ve been moaning about the quality of ukulele beginner books for a while now. They all seem very dated in the songs they select and nowhere near comprehensive enough to cover everything a beginner should know when they set out. Luckily, Mike Dickison has written the book that the ukulele deserves. He covers the basics comprehensively, but what really makes it stand out is that he conveys where the ukulele scene is at right now....All the basic chording, strumming and picking are put across effectively and concisely with top notch illustrations....As well as the playing side, he also covers the other essential parts of the modern uke scene that none of the other books mention: ukulele clubs, recording yourself on your computer and ukuleles on the net....It deserves to get picked up and adapted by an international publisher as it’s by far the best introduction to the ukulele I’ve ever read.”
— Al Wood, Ukulele Hunt (http://www.ukulelehunt.com)

About the author
		
Mike Dickison had wanted to learn the ukulele for twenty years, and in 2005 picked one up and taught himself. He joined a ukulele group in Durham, North Carolina, where he was studying for his PhD at a time when the ukulele renaissance was sweeping America. Returning to New Zealand, he found that kids were only learning from books written by Australians and Americans, and resolved to set this right. Mike has been a teacher and writer for fifteen years, maintains the twenty-fourth-most-popular ukulele page on the Internet, and teaches at the University of Canterbury. His professional interest is in improving the presentation of scientific data, and his academic field is fossil bird bones from islands, including the ukulele islands of Madeira and Hawaii. Mike blogs at www.giantflightlessbirds.com and shares his birthday with George Formby.