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The Power of Ukulele Music in Videos

by Chance Bulger

There’s comfort in music.There’s emotion, and there’s power. Many experts have studied the power of Ukulele music for therapy, empathy and strength of message. This is evident from the popularity with which Ukulele songs are used nowadays, especially in corporate video presentations.

The best way to get your message across and stimulate all the possible directions in a video presentation is through music. That’s why many presenters rely on audio experiments when they prepare their presentations.

The audiovisual resources are excellent for creating presentations for your company, be it pitch, the disclosure of your company, its products or the services offered. They also contribute to building the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) of your business, by making the information to be passed more explanatory.

Videos and audios are highly engaging and make it easy to share content, which gives your brand more reach to your consumers. No wonder that Ukulele songs that have inspiring, simple, and motivating features are so popular in video productions today.

Main Features of the Ukulele

Strange name, very particular sound and different design. This is the Ukulele. You may not know it deeply, but if you’ve heard any Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz songs or cover versions of the dozens of songs from The Beach Boys you’ve heard this instrument.

The ukulele has its origin in the nineteenth century, having as ancestors the braguinha or machete and the rajão, instruments taken by the Portuguese João Fernandes, when he immigrated to Hawaii to work on the cultivation of sugarcane in those islands.

When SS Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu on the afternoon of August 23, 1879, he had 419 Portuguese immigrants on board from the island of Madeira. João Fernandes, then 25, celebrating the end of the 4-month, 15,000-mile voyage, took the Madeiran version of the cavaquinho, the braguinha of his friend Manuel Nunes, jumped from the ship and began to play typical songs of his native land.

The Hawaiians, impressed by the speed with which the fingers of João ran the instrument, called this ukulele, which translated means “jumping flea”; At least that was the impression left by João Fernandes’s fingers.   The history of the Ukulele began many years ago in Hawaii in 1879.

At the time, it was classified as a mixture of guitar with banjo. But, it was in 1950 that the Uke achieved prominence, with the manufacturing in great quantity. However, it lost strength again in the 70’s, with the popularization of guitars.

With four strings, usually made of synthetic material such as fluorocarbon, nylon or nylgut, the instrument can have four sizes: Soprano, Concert, Tenor and Baritone. They range from 33 cm in length to 43 cm.   Many of the various types of ukulele are quite different from each other, and they produce radically different tones. The ukulele has always been quite a social instrument which is perhaps part of the reason why the tenor, baritone and bass ukuleles were developed – in order to fill out the sound (by adding in lower-ranged notes) when ukes are played together.

The ukulele has undergone some significant changes during its lifetime, and most stringent instruments are quite individualistic in quality. Different makes of the same basic type of ukulele will have different tones, depending on the quality of the woods used and the specifications of the instrument.

Fun Facts about the Ukulele

  1. Ukulele means “jumping flea” in Hawaiian but the last queen of Kingdom of Hawaii, Liliuokalani, translated Ukulele as “gift from afar”. Most people just call it by its common nickname: the uke.
  2. The ukulele has four strings and are known by the notes: G – C – E and A. Not only are these notes acoustic, but are currently electric.
  3. The single “I’m yours” by Jason Mraz is the best-selling ukulele song of all time. It was on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 76 weeks.
  4. Beatle George Harrison collected hundreds of ukuleles and was often seen strumming them or giving them away to friends.
  5. There is a hugely popular Ukulele Orchestra in Great Britain. They regularly perform worldwide to great critical acclaim.

 The therapeutic power of Ukulele music

The ukulele is not only a unique instrument and of specific sonorities, it has also been studied for its therapeutic reasons. Corey Bergman started a Ukulele club for children at a hospital in South Florida and the therapeutic results were unbelievable.

The Ukulele Kids Club is an organization that’s found in the hands of a sick child-a ukulele can become an instrument of healing. This is because its sonority is captivating and the instrument is the ideal size to accompany anyone anywhere.

The Ukulele Kids Club donate instruments to hospitals that have a music therapist. There are real, therapeutic benefits to music. It has been shown to lower blood pressure and can be used with pain management. Practicing instruments can be part of physical therapy.   Using Ukulele music in videos   The best way to enhance your presentation videos, Do it yourself (DIY) videos and “How to…” videos is to use music that has strength, be inspiring and motivate your audience.

That’s why Ukulele music is so popular for this kind of video. It carries a sound loaded with good energies and fits any type of editing.   There’s a reason Buzzfeed, Tastemade and Huffington Post videos are so successful on the internet: the editions are flawless, the production is simple and appealing and the background music is always spot on. In many of them you can check the use of Ukulele music as a way to inspire the audience and ensure a direct, clear and motivational message.

At Themusicase.com we have a library with hundreds of Ukulele music for you to explore for your next video presentation. Some great examples are:   Agogos Kids Finger Paint Do It Yourself Smells Like Spring Kanikapila Ukulele Whistler

More tips for improving your video presentations

If you want to start creating videos for the internet, make a powerful presentation for your company / startup or professionally edit videos for companies, keep in mind the five tips we listed below:

  • Set the purpose of your presentation to draw your idea: Each type of video has a specific goal, which in turn needs to be well designed to reach them. If your goal is to develop an interactive pitch about your startup, for example, you will have a different speech from those who want to build an instructive presentation about your product or service.
  • Assemble a script with a well-constructed narrative: You certainly have enough knowledge about your business to compose a narrative about it to compose the video. However, this does not rule out the need for you to put all these details at the tip of the pencil, that is, to put together a script.
  • The images make the difference: Be very selective when choosing the images that will compose your video. They make all the difference when it comes to calling and holding the attention of your audience, as well as being extremely important in explaining the information to be passed.
  • “Sound is as important as the picture”: Cameras often have the microphone on the front. If you use this option, speak loudly and face the microphone. External microphones have better quality as they do not pick up ambient noise, as with built-in microphones.
  • Do not overuse special effects: Think about whether it will be worthwhile to use many effects and spend time with others. Just use them if the script really asks. What matters most is the content, which must be conveyed in a clear and objective way.

Following the tips on how to deliver a captivating, straightforward and cohesive video presentation, you’ll be on the right track to ensuring great content for your audience and your customers. Choosing the right music for these videos is of paramount importance for deliver your message. Ukulele songs are a great option to increase the quality of your videos, motivate your audience and win new customers. 


Author: Chance Bulger

Writer, blogger based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.


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