One-String Guitar

 Wait!  There's a load of information about one-string guitars and by golly some of the information can easily be used for the ukecello!  I'll check this out and get back!

Since then...

 ...and the interest in gourd ukeleles continue, although now it has been merged with cello - a ukecello. Buying the cello extension arm (an endpin) will make for an interesting winter when the days seem long and nothing is as fine as hearing a song! Of course, the songs will be sung as the endpin is positioned and anchored into place. However, as a plucking, strumming instrument, a ukecello has promise!

Tuning

Everything has to start at the beginning. For this project, Brett McQueen's Ukelele Tricks will be the online tutor.  He makes it look easy!  Being left-handed, the first question is how to hold the instrument so the dominant hand [left] can strum and the fine-motor-skills hand [right] can do the fingering...should this be done?

Brett says no. Both hands have to be used anyway and playing right-handed avoids the time-consuming thinking/conversions necessary to read instructional materials since those tools are not prepared with left-handedness in mind.  However, in my case, there is a 25-year history of using the right hand to perform a delicate, precision motor-skill - papercutting [see the 5" example where four papercuttings are tangled together]. Figuring out which hand to use will be a challenge but hopefully, one that becomes negligible as time goes on.

Getting Started, until the gourd is done

This is what was purchased.
It is not as interesting as the gourd
but as an immediate start,
it's worth the effort.

OK, it's been a year and the gourd ukelele has not moved forward at a good speed. At one time, there was a decision to buy a cello leg and make the gourd into a ukecello. The idea has promise because then the instrument can be strummed as a ukelele held across the chest or plucked as a cello as it stands on the ground between the knees.

However, that plan is still in the making.  Right, in order to get moving on something, a concert ukelele has been purchased to get started with learning notes and fingering. That way, at least until the weather allows for working in the shop to finish building the gourd ukecello, some knowledge can happen in preparation!

Preparing for the 20 Hours

Going with the 20-hours-to-learn-anything concept seen in the TED talk shown in a previous, action in the studio is moving forward. The gourd ukelele is being burned with more delicate leaves to make a thick image of vines of foliage. The surface is especially tough and has been difficult to get smooth, even lines. However, patience is a good thing!

When not doing that, other preparations are taking place. Choosing a song has been a challenge - there are so many. [Writing one is another 20-hour learning process to tackle at another time!] Right now, there are several interesting and memorable songs made into gourd parodies.

There is a Roger Miller song OO-De-Lally [Crackled Apples, Fri., March 27],  Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson made Always on My Mind a popular hit, and done as a parody is gourdy [Thurs., March 12]. The Crackled Apples blog has several songs made into parodies, all covered by Fair Use Laws within the copyright law.

Which one?  Or, make a new one altogether?  It has to be fast since the 20 hour practice clock does not start ticking until the uke is made, tuned, and the song is learned!

Adding to the Decoration

Now that the gourd is out of the closet, it needed more leaves so the process of added them is begun. The gourd looks fairly full now, but the empty space between the existing leaves will be filled with additional leaves.

Making the Gourd Instrument

One of the instruments that can be made from a gourd is a ukelele. A simple instrument, the belly is made from the rounded part of the gourd with a covering and sound hole. A neck for the strings are attached. This is a ukelele begun some time ago and only now retrieved from the closet to finish...

This was the original kettle gourd.

Once but in half and gutted, the face of
a broken mandolin was glued to it.

Screws and threads from another
instruments will be attached to
a tomato stake for a neck.

The gourd belly is being
decorated with vines
and leaves.