Ukulele The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. The ukulele is commonly associated with music from Hawaii where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea", perhaps because of the movement of the player's fingers. Legend attributes it to the nickname of the Englishman Edward William Purvis, one of King Kalākaua's officers, because of his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. One of the earliest appearances of the word "ukulele" in print (in the sense of a stringed instrument) is in the Metropolitan Museum of
Boston Musical Instrument Company Boston Musical Instrument Company The Boston Musical Instrument Company was an American manufacturer of brass band instruments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries located in Boston, Massachusetts. Elbridge Wright was an apprentice to Samuel Graves at his original woodwind shop which had been founded in the 1820s outside of Boston. At the same time Wright was with Graves, James Keat, who had apprenticed to hais father Samuel in England around the turn of the century, introduced the Graves firm to brasswind instrument manufacture. Wright learned from both Graves and Keat before setting out on his own. In 1869,