Barry Maz

Barry is a well known personality in the worldwide ukulele community and founder of the website Got A Ukulele, now one of the most popular resources for new ukulele players. For the past 30 years he dabbled with acoustic and electric guitar, but was switched on to the ukulele some years ago on account of a number of his musical heroes championing the uke (the likes of George Harrison and Loudon Wainwright III amongst others). Like most beginners, Barry started with a cheap and nasty ukulele which was a struggle to play, so he started to explore better quality instruments and learned along the way. The more he played, the more he enjoyed this little instrument and decided to start sharing his experiences on the internet and in print. The response was massive with the site being hugely popular today and considered to be a key 'go to' resource for impartial beginners advice. He doesn't so much write about 'how to play', but rather shares his love of the instrument and provides advice to new players on how to live with a ukulele. He has played an enviable number of ukuleles and reviewed many of them on his website in great detail, making his site a regular resource for people looking for opinions on their next instrument. He doesn't class himself as a great player, but someone who has been around the ukulele for quite some time with a desire to help other new players who are just starting out. Following the ongoing success of the blog he was persuaded to put down his best tips and advice for new players into a series of books. They hit the shelves at just the right time with great success (his first book going on to become the best selling music book on Kindle at one point in 2011) The ukulele really is an instrument for everyone - its quick to pick up the basics (most beginners can easily be playing a simple song in 30 minutes) and it really gets people talking. But like all good instruments, it will take a lifetime of enjoyment to master! Keep strumming!