KEY POINTS:
Musician Peter Urlich handed out 20 ukuleles to Auckland's Sacred Heart College as part of a push to replace recorders as the instrument of choice for school music lessons.
The former Th' Dudes star was on hand together with ex-Split Enz bass player Mike Chunn, who is also the CEO of Play it Strange, to present the instruments to their former school as part of the Ukuleles in Schools programme.
The ukeleles were donated by the Play it Strange Trust through a grant by the Mazda Foundation.
Mr Chunn said the ukulele was a "wonderful instrument" to get younger children excited about music and led naturally to the guitar and other more sophisticated instruments.
"As a four-stringed instrument it is simple to learn and suits smaller hands. What's more - unlike a recorder - you can actually sing along to a ukulele," he said.
Auckland University district music facilitator for primary schools, Maria Winder, said the increased interest in ukuleles did not signal the demise of the recorder. "Recorders are still used very successfully in schools."
Since the programme began in 2004, 1200 ukuleles have been given out to 70 schools around the country.
