So ukulele classes have gone pretty well so far. We've seen and heard some incredibly talented students. But no one has quite mastered Bach's Gavotte II yet. Jamie will be teaching it tonight at New Lynn Library. Get there if you don't want to be playing Mary Had a Little Lamb for the rest of your uke-life.

Come one come all and find your inner Hawaiian! All you need are four fingers for four nylon strings and one day this might be you:

Whether you're in a mid-life crisis and can't afford a Fender Stratocaster, or you've been learning the recorder and would like to upgrade, this class is perfect for you.

So book your place and get to Auckland Central City Library tomorrow, Wednesday 11 May, at 1.30pm on Level 2, for an intensively fun session with our resident ukulele-qualified librarians.

All ukuleles will be supplied.

Thanks to groups like the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestraand the Play It Strange Trust the ukulele is becoming more and more prevalent in New Zealand. It's easy to see why, as ukes are lightweight, small, and pretty easy to learn quickly. Unlike recorder lessons in primary school, songs learnt on the ukulele are worth remembering and fun to play.

It really is super easy to play the uke, and websites like Ukulele Huntmake it easy to find the music for songs you want to play (yes, they've got 'Hey Ya').
It's not just here in New Zealand, either. Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls) has been touring round the world these last two years doing Ninja gigs on her days off which she announces on Twitter. She just shows up with her uke and does songs for whoever showed up for as long as they feel like it. A ukulele is perfect for this kind of thing, because it's small enough and light enough to take it with you.