Centuries before twee Zooey Deschanel lookalikes started strumming YouTube covers of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a musician named Joao Fernandez hopped off a boat in Honolulu Harbor. The year was 1879, and Fernandez — along with other Portuguese immigrants — just completed a four-month, 12,000-mile journey from the ailing Atlantic island of Madeira to tropical Hawaii.
Fernandez is said to have celebrated the vessel's arrival by deftly plucking a song on his machête, or pint-sized guitar. According to The Atlantic, a group of Hawaiians who witnessed his performance "were so impressed by his fingerboard prestidigitations that they called the instrument 'ukulele,' which translates to 'jumping flea.'"
The ukulele's construction is simple: Four strings, an hourglass-shaped body made of wood or plastic, a soundhole, and a neck topped off by a headstock. Not much has changed about the instrument since its inception, either in form or function — 'til now, that is. With the Populele, the world's first smart uke, this old-timey instrument has been revamped for the 21st century to the benefit of aspiring musicians everywhere.
Made of premium European maple and spruce, the Populele features an app-enabled, 72-LED fretboard that plays patterns of lights to guide your fingers through your favorite songs. Never played the uke before? Perfect.
Check it out:
The Populele uses sound-responsive technology to give you real-time feedback, and includes an in-app feature that shows you how to tune your instrument. Already a veritable virtuoso? The Populele is for you, too: Refresh your repertoire with tunes from its continuously updated library, or use the Populele's built-in recording tool to share original ditties with your friends.
Ready to make Joao Fernandez proud? Head over to the Mashable Shop to pick up the Populele for $179.
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