Steve Martin made me want to learn to play the ukulele.
It was that scene in the 1979 film “The Jerk” that really did it. You know, it’s the one where Martin and his co-star Bernadette Peters are walking along the beach at night. He’s holding a vintage Martin uke. Over the steady roar of the Pacific Ocean in the background, he plucks out the chords to “Tonight You Belong to Me,” a jazz standard made famous by Gene Austin in the 1920s and later revived by the singing act Patience and Prudence in the 1950s. Martin and Peters break into two-part harmony, and the rest is history. I was inspired.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who rushed to learn the chords to that song as soon as I bought my ukulele.
“I get that a lot,” said Chris McGarry, a ukulele teacher and children’s program director at the Swallow Hill Music school in Denver. “I had a student email me and say, ‘Hey, can we learn to play that song because I’m going to propose to my girlfriend in class.’”
McGarry is one of the many teachers and performers taking part in Swallow Hill’s Denver Ukefest at the school’s flagship location on Yale Avenue in Denver this weekend. Now in its seventh year, the three-day festival is a celebration of the instrument and the wide range of musical styles it has inspired. In addition to performances by local and international artists like the Copoetics, Stu Fuchs, Aldrine Guerrero, Star Belle and The Ooks of Hazzard, the festival will feature classes for complete novices and old pros alike.
If history is any judge, McGarry will hear the same story about that Steve Martin scene from the students who report to Uke 1 and 2 classes at the festival. He’s also apt to get tales of musical inspiration taken from students’ Hawaiian vacations and vintage jazz record collections. Such stories are standard for McGarry, who found the uke after starting out as a guitarist.
“A really common saying is, ‘I was traveling in Hawaii and I couldn’t resist picking one up,’” McGarry said. “People come to the ukulele for different reasons. They come with such a wide array of what they’re willing to play.”
Part of the instrument’s lure lies in its accessibility, McGarry said. That’s also a big reason the school’s ukulele program and its yearly Ukefest have significantly grown. With only four strings to approach, the ukulele is an easy entry point for would-be musicians starting an instrument. With tickets for workshops and performances starting at $30, the Ukefest offers a similar kind of access.
“Somebody who’s five years old can play the uke and somebody who’s 92 can play the uke,” said Lindsay Taylor, a spokeswoman for Swallow Hill. The historic music school started in 1979 as a brainchild of Colorado Music Hall of Fame inductee Harry Tuft. “I play more recreationally than professionally, but I was able to pick it up. The C chord is one finger on one string. It’s very easy,” Taylor said.
That’s not to say all uke players are casual musicians. Since former Swallow Hill Music School Director Michael Schenkelberg started the festival seven years ago, it’s drawn a growing attendance base from all over the world. The students and professional players who flock to Swallow Hill every year are part of a much larger global community dedicated to an instrument that’s had a starring role in styles ranging from folk to ragtime to world music.
“We answer questions about where to stay for people coming from New York and Oregon,” Taylor said. “It’s certainly grown from just being the locals.”
The caliber of the performers has also grown since the Ukefest kicked off as a one-day event. This year will feature Guerrero, an accomplished and acclaimed player from the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i and Fuchs, an award-winning string player who uses the uke to belt out styles ranging from Gypsy jazz to Brazilian folk music. The Ooks of Hazzard bill themselves as an “army of ukuleles playing rock and roll,” and the trio Star Belle tout their close harmonies.
The diverse lineup hints at the possibility and flexibility of the ukulele itself. Shortly after its arrival in Hawaii in the late 19th century, the instrument became a signature cultural voice of the country. In the 1910s and 1920s, the uke became a go-to instrument for jazz crooners and ragtime composers. It figures across the spectrum of modern pop music, from work by indie rockers to music by folk revivalists.
That kind of range is part of what made players like McGarry make the shift to the instrument from the six strings of his guitar.
“I play folk music and country music, but I like a lot of different types of music. I love jazz, and ragtime and classical,” McGarry said. “Uke players are a lot like that in general. They seem to like to play a lot of different styles … That’s what keeps me interested.”
When it comes to the uke, a simple spark of inspiration can open up a whole world of music, McGarry said. It doesn’t take a lot to get interested in these four strings, whether it’s a scene from a Steve Martin movie, a vacation to Hawaii or the upcoming Ukefest.
The Denver Ukefest will run from June 5 to 7 at Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave. in Denver. Tickets for performances start at $30. Weekend passes start at $125. Information: 303-777-1003 or swallowhillmusic.org.
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com