Part of the uke’s appeal, says Khairil Faizi, is that it’s easy to learn, even for absolute newbies.
“It took me just two to three months to learn, and I didn’t know how to play a guitar then,” says Khairil, who goes by the name Khai. Just six months later after buying his first ukulele, he opened Ukulele Malaya, a specialist store that not only sells ukes, but also fosters a community and learning centre for uke fans in KL.
“It was hard to find people to play with after awhile,” he says. “I just wanted to make new friends who could play the uke as well, which is what gave me the idea to open up the store.”
Despite not knowing anything about the music store business, he opened Ukulele Malaya in June 2010, with an initial shipment of 400 ukuleles sourced mainly from California — quite a gamble considering the uke’s relative obscurity until recent times.
“The whole idea of Ukulele Malaya was to bring people together; it wasn’t so much of a professional music store where I’d just sell ukuleles and that’s it,” Khai says, adding that even he was surprised that the 400 units were sold off awhile back. These days, Khai says sells at least one a day on average, and sources the ukes from the US, Germany, Hawaii, China, and Japan.
Khai’s shop is now one of two well-known ukulele sellers Malaysia, the other being Manuel Ukulele, an online business based in Penang.
Picking the uke
Having been a uke newbie himself once, he recognises how intimidated a customer — particular one who hasn’t picked up an instrument before — can feel in a music store. “I was the kind of person who was afraid to go into music stores because I didn’t know where to start, or what I wanted,” he says.
Indeed, many of his customers are just like he was. Khai is used to people coming into his shop, staring at the dozens of exotically named ukes like Kala, Kamaka, and Kanile’a, looking at the price tags — and wondering: “Okay, where do I start?”
“A good budget to begin with is about RM250, that’ll get you a good ukulele to begin with,” he says. “But more importantly, it’s how comfortable you are with the uke; how it sounds like, how it feels in your hands. Sometimes, buying a more expensive brand isn’t always better.”
Top quality ukes from Japan and Hawaii can go over RM1,000, while affordable ones like the best-selling Kalas averages around RM250 to RM300. There are cheaper ones too in the sub-RM100 category, but don’t be surprised if the sound comes out disappointing.
Once you’re done with buying one, the next step is to learn how to play it. Ukulele Malaya holds regular weekly classes during the weekends at an affordable price: RM35 for a beginners’ course, comprising four 30-minute sessions, and RM300 for the intermediate course, comprising eight hour-long sessions. Taught by professional tutors, the classes have proven to be a hit, with Sunday classes fully booked, and Saturdays half-booked.
Lessons are limited to just two people per session, and by the end of the beginner’s course, Khai says you can step up your skills quickly via the hundreds of ukulele tutorial videos on YouTube.
After that, all you need is Zee Avi’s voice (or Ryan Gosling’s abs, if you’re a guy), and you’re ready to become a bona fide ukulele star/girl magnet.
Ukulele Malaya is located at 34A-2, Jalan SM2, Sunway Batu Caves, Selangor. For more information, visit their website or call 603-6187 8054.
