Made In Chicago: Ukulele Instructor Lanialoha
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In the depth of the winter cold, think of Hawaii, and warmth and the spirit of aloha.
A woman named Lanialoha teaches at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
"If you want to learn how to play that ukulele and the technique that goes with that ukulele - which is not that of a guitar's technique - then you came to the right place.
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"And no, you may not tell me what you would like to learn. I will let you know what you will be doing. With aloha, you know."
Always with the spirit of aloha.
When an ukulele class observer mentions the difficulty of getting one's fingers to play a B-flat...
"It's a funny thing about that B-flat. Everyone feels the same. It's mutual. So I had to rename it: 'We love B-flat.' Say it.
WBBM: We love B-flat.
"Yes, no matter what you think."
Lanialoha is Hawaiian and spends a great deal of time there, but she was born in Ravenswood, grew up in Buffalo Grove and lives in Lincoln Square.
Her roots are in Hawaii. And the ukulele?
"It connects me to my home. Doesn't matter. You can play anything on that uke. But when I look at it, when I hear it, I think of Hawaii. I think of my grandmother. I think of my family. I think of the way of life.
"And when I share the songs, the repertoire that represents this program here with the students, they too are learning about the daily lifestyle that goes on. It's embedded in all of the texts.
"It doesn't have to be in Hawaiian text for it to really reach out and touch people."
Lanialoha, instructor and performer at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
For more information about Lanialoha, visit lanialoha.com. For information about ukulele classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music, visit www.oldtownschool.org/classes/adults/ukulele/.
