AEOLIAN  UKE

Once upon a time, many years  ago, I was sitting on the bow of a 1929 motor yacht with my 1925 Martin 2K in my lap.  The boat pointed into the wind and gently tugged against the anchor chain.  As I quietly watched the twilight change to darkness and the constellations reveal themselves, I heard a soft ethereal sound.

Where was this sound coming from?  The sea?

It seemed to me to be coming from my uke.  I lifted it up from my lap and the sound faded.  As I moved the uke about, like a hand outside the window of a moving car, the sound came back, and then faded again.  Holding the base of the uke against my ear, and moving it about, so that the sea wind blew across the strings, produced a sustaining cord.  D6th.

It was this ukulele…

...and this vessel.