I’ve been teaching myself to play baritone ukulele for almost a year; I started with a soprano uke, but my fingers were too large and I felt like an angry, uncoordinated giant whenever I tried to play. Hulk smash puny stringed instrument!
I sized up to a baritone, which is much less plink-y and more like a guitar, an instrument I’ve tried several times. Four strings is considerably simpler than six.
The idea of sharing the music beyond a very small circle is something I’ve talked myself out of a number of times. Not because I’m afraid of your feedback, but because I derive so much enjoyment from playing this damn thing that sharing it with others was barely a consideration. I could totally suck at it, and I’d still be having fun. Happily, I don’t totally suck at it.
Some of the most sublime moments in the last several months saw me sitting at a table while playing the uke and looking up chord diagrams online for songs I heard on the radio as a kid. The afternoon when I figured out the guitar hook from Heart’s “Barracuda,” I broke out laughing. When I found myself playing “Agua de Beber,” I was a little impressed with myself. And the day I played along to “Stairway” and blazed through the final verse, shaking my imaginary mop of hair? I felt like a complete badass.
Although I can sing and play, that seemed a little ambitious for a debut. Instead, here’s Meredith Wilson’s “Till There Was You.”
I’ll try to add a few more from time to time. Many of the songs I’ve learned are here, but there are others I’m adding to the repertoire. Stay tuned.
More Gaudy Patter 
Good work, Walter. Congratulations on teaching yourself so well. It takes a lot of perseverance. I love the image of you bursting out laughing as you play. Shake that hair, you badasss!