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Throughout its 130-year-old history, the ukulele has often been underrated \u2013 for many, this tiny four stringed instrument is a musical joke, a plastic toy or a cheap airport souvenir, but in fact, some of the world\u2019s greatest musicians have played and admired it, and it has enduring associations with the struggle for Hawaiian independence since its arrival on the islands from Madeira in the late 19th century. The ukulele is also surprisingly versatile and musicians are forever involved in the challenge of expanding its repertoire, from Bach to ukulele concertos to jazz.

Joining Bridget Kendall to find out more about this deceptively humble instrument is the award-winning musician Brittni Paiva, who\u2019s been described as Hawaii\u2019s pre-eminent ukulele artist; Jim Beloff, the co-founder of Flea Market Music, publishers of some of the first ukulele song books which played a key part in the modern ukulele revival, his forthcoming memoir is UKEtopia: Adventures in the Ukulele World; and Samantha Muir, a classical ukulele musician and composer, who\u2019s doing a PHD at the University of Surrey in the UK to create new works for the classical ukulele repertoire.

Produced by Anne Khazam for the BBC World Service.

[Image: A ukulele sitting on its side on a Hawaiian beach. Credit: McCaig via Getty Images]