love for

A Tongan with love for a uke!

From SIO MAGI SI in Tonga To most Pacific Islanders, the ukulele is a small, familiar musi cal instrument with four nylon strings. But for the unchallenged ukulele king of Tonga, Sione Johannson, it’s a way of life.

Though he is right-handed, 25year-old Sione (alias ‘Aleki’, his father’s first name) can strum effortlessly with his left hand, play the ukulele behind his back and above his head, with his hands crossed, and right out in front of him. He can even chew out a perfect melody with his teeth plucking dexterously at the strings. And all this at a pace that astounds professed maestros of the ukulele.

Aleki, his father, says that Sione’s interest in music started before he was five years old.

Sione’s partial blindness is large ly responsible for his early in tense interest in music—perhaps to while away the time indoors while his brothers and sisters were outside playing games.

“I remember when I was very young, I would tie a nylon string around my big toe and hold the other end with my left hand. I would pull it tight and pluck it with my right hand,” recalled Sione. “Then I started biting one end with my teeth and found I could make a better sound.

Half a coconut

“When I was about six, I had a great idea about making an instrument. I joined a flat piece of wood to a large half of a coconut shell, somewhat similar to the kava drinking bowl, and stretched four strings over it. It must have sounded horrible but I thoroughly enjoyed playing that instrument. It’s a pity I haven’t got one now “My next instrument only had an empty three-pound corned beef tin instead of the half coco nut shell. It had a tinny sound but it helped me to learn.

“Then one Christmas an uncle visited our house and told me if I could play well on my tin

ukulele he would buy me one. I made it and he bought me my first uke. He must have been very sympathetic,”

Sione shortly after joined his uncle’s band and since then has not once looked back. In top demand locally in recent years, Sione remembers with some amusement the time when patrons at a large dance hall would not dance to his music.

“I had just returned to Tonga with ‘the new beat’ after a stay in Auckland,” he said, “Tongans at that stage (about four years ago) weren’t used to dancing to that sort of music. They just listened. But then, after a few weeks, everyone liked it.”

Besides the ukulele, Sione also plays with competence the banjo, mandolin, violin, steel guitar, electric guitar and the bass.

It is more than likely he in herited part of his love for music from his father, who him self was in several bands and can still play several instruments.

Sione, with his father, has cut several records in New Zealand with famous steel guitarist Bill Sevesi. In January he left to entertain in Paeo Pago night clubs and at social functions.

Sione in action.