ONLY FOUR STRINGS NEEDED

Inexplicably, there seems to have been something of a resurgence of interest in that easy-to-carry, easy to-play, tried and true old favourite, the ukulele.

Hard to believe, I know. Whether for its camp value or for the fact that it's just really easy to wring a good tune out of one, the uke has lately become the weapon of choice for both the musically and non-musically inclined.

If the thought of being a uke-slinging singer has ever crossed your mind, you'd be hard pressed to find a better website to bolster your plan than www. kiwiukulele.co.nz Everything you need to know to get up and running is right there.

Descriptions of the different kinds of ukuleles available, where to find the best deal, what kind of strings to buy, how to tune your new uke; it's all explained in plain English.

And once you've got a primed and ready instrument in your hands, www.kiwiukulele.co.nz has a section devoted to easy-to-follow sheet music (no music reading ability required) available for download in PDF form. There's also strumming examples (via an embedded audio player), chord charts, and sample pages from a book you can purchase (which seems like a very reasonable deal at $25).

If you've always wanted to play an instrument but have had trouble deciding which one, or if you're looking for a little music tuition with a distinctly Kiwi flavour, www.kiwiukulele.co.nz is a very good place to start.