Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-16
This and That
By Charles E. TracetCeH.

Cats and musical instruments make
an interesting study in the household.
The kitten on the keys has been
the subject of both painting and
music, one recent composer of popular
tunes having so named a jazz COM
position. One of the old masters
wrote ''cat fugue."
Ordinarily, house cats pay no par.
ticular attention to the music of the
monograph or radio, except when
orchestra bells are struck, when
sometimes they prick up their ears.
The cat Jack Spratt dislikes the
harmonica, as it comes over radio,
and looks at the loud speaker as if
meditating assault upon IL.
For a short time. following the
purchase of a loud speaker with a
more natural tone. Jack manifested
some interest at the interruption of
the speaking voice, but this was no
more than his human friends did for
the voice was startlingly realistic.
Jack objects decidedly to the violin.
especially to the higher notes on the
F. string. When these are played he
will meow vigorously, in a pleading
sort of way, yet get as close to the
instrument as possible.
The mandolin he ignores completely.
- X
Jacks favorite instrument, we have
just discovered. is the ukulele.
Evidently the, soft sound Of its
strummed strings strikes him as some
sort of purring.
Recently we numbered from a
closet an ancient luke" which had
been reposing there for exactly 13
years and months. In our so-called
salad days" we were an ardent
devotee of this little instrument. al
though we could neither sing, hum
nor whistle.
Our ability. too. upon the ukulele
is decidedly out of luck when he can
not do one or the other, either
whistle, sing, or. at least, hum. He
must content himself with mentally
humming the melodies; and If you
have ever tried singing mentally, you
know it is quite firing upon the
brain.
Our ability. too, upon the ukulele,
was not what it might have been, nor
what we wished it to be. After
mastering the fundamental chords in
the keys of c. G and F, we were at a
standstill. so far as the fingers of our
left hand were concerned.
Then, too. the various strokes with
the right hand did not come as easily
as they might have done. When one
is instructing himself upon a fretted
musical instrument, he invariably
finds that the proper use of the right
hand offers the chief difficulty.
One may learn more about the diff.
ferent strokes upon the ukulele, the
roll, the regular. the rag-time, and
so on. In half an hour from one
proficient in them. than from any
amount of study whatsoever from a
book.
The straw that broke the camers
back however. was a trip we made
down Ninth street, one Sunday morn.
ing. carrying the luke" in the right
hand, in all innocence.
The strong. manly characters OF
this thoroughfare objected. and in nc
small way, TO our carrying so effete
an instrument in broad daylight. and
so convincing were their arguments
that we placed the luke" away for
what we thought was forever.
Forever. however. sometimes turn.
out to be only 10 years and months.
So we have our ukulele out again
and If you are In Esstee alley some
Sunday morning, you may hear its
roaring hum. principally in the KEYS
of c, G and F. still our favorites.
(They are the easiest to play)
Jack Spratt, reformed alley cat
hops upon our lap. when we play the
ukulele, and nestles down with his
ear as close to the sound hole as
possible.
Then he sets up a mighty purring
which we endeavOr to acconnpany as
best we may with chords from our
three keys. We hope to be able to an
nounce at later day just which key
lack meoU,s in