More tales of my journey with the ukulele are coming, but today we take a break (sort of) for World Ukulele Day, an annual tradition started in 2011 by “Ukulele Mike” Lynch. Ukulele Mike was a music teacher and composer in the Seattle area who also became a popular ukulele YouTube personality. He was actually one of the first people I found on the internet when I picked up the uke. Mike died suddenly in January 2018, but his YouTube channel and official website live on.

Also living on is World Ukulele Day, when everyone is encouraged to celebrate this instrument closely associated with Hawaii — either by playing or enjoying the music. Mike hoped to spread peace and love with this day of observation. My contribution is a cover of John Lennon’s Imagine:

A lot can be done with four strings, so pick up this remarkable instrument and play a few chords today. As Ukulele Mike said at the end of all his videos, “Happy strumming!”