Father and Daughter Share Love of Sweet Ukulele Sounds

The ukulele may not be the instrument of choice for most musicians, but Barry and Tessa Mitterhoff say it's certainly one of the most fun to play.

The Scotch Plains father and daughter duo will share their love for the Hawaiian stringed instrument during a series of workshops this month at Fanwood Memorial Library.

Tessa, a freshman at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, discovered the ukulele two years ago while at an Ashokan music camp in upstate New York, where her father teaches lessons in other instruments.

"I was looking over the classes and there was a beginning ukulele course," said the 14-year-old, who also plays piano, flute and guitar. "It was kind of on a whim."

Tessa quickly took to the small instrument, finding that it was easier to play than the guitar and that it offered the chance to play a wide variety of songs.

"When I first started I was playing old time classic ukulele songs and Elvis songs," she said. "Now I'm playing songs by bands I like, like Lady Gaga. It's funny how pop songs can sounds really good on the ukulele."

Inspired by his daughter's interest in the instrument, Barry decided to learn as well. A world-class musician already well-versed on the banjo, mandolin and ukulele, Barry says he liked that the ukulele added another sound to his arsenal.

"When you get started with the ukulele you can get a pretty decent sound after a short time, a few months," he said. "It's just easy to play. The strings are made of nylon, and a guitar's are steel so they hurt the fingers more. It's easier to press down and there's only four strings instead of six."

While the duo have found virtuosos of the ukulele, they've also enjoyed discovering its sound in more mainstream music, like indie band Death Cab for Cutie and Train.

"There's an increased interest in the ukulele among teenagers, and it's made more fun for sure because we hear it in a lot of the contemporary bands Tessa listens to," Barry said. "The ukulele has a distinctive sound from the guitar. It's very sweet, soft and mellow."

Tessa, who's in band and choir at the high school, says her love for the ukulele has definitely piqued the interest of some of her friends.  The father and daughter say the instrument is definitely accessible to players of all ages, and their goal is to share it with anyone who wants to learn during their classes at the library.

"We'll see what happens," Barry said. "We have a nice class already signed up to come, some kids from the high school, grown ups as well. We thought we had so much fun with the ukulele that it was something we could spread around."

The Inter-Generational Ukulele Classes will be taught each Thursday evening at 7 p.m. throughout February at the Fanwood Memorial Library. The class is free and open to the public, but participants must bring their own ukulele, which Tessa says start at around $30 on the Internet. To register, call 908-322-6400.