Jimi Hendrix once sang, “If Six Was Nine.” But this is neither a post about Hendrix, nor about his songs. This is about instruments.

And, before you jump to conclusions (which may make sense, given that I’ve written about bass guitars before), this is about ukuleles and not bass guitars!

Let me give a little background: Every time my six year-old granddaughter comes to my house, she gets enraptured by my KLŌS travel guitar. I don’t mind, as it’s made of carbon fiber, so there’s little chance she can damage it, even if she were to drop it or sling it about.

So, I was walking through a newly-opened Lidl, when I saw they had beginner guitar sets for sale. I stopped to think. This might be a nice Christmas present for her, if she really wants to plunk away. Then, right next to the guitars, were some boxes of Ukuleles. Right size, right price, so I bought one.

Okay, so it’s a cheapie. I figured that if she lost interest quickly, no great loss. On the other hand, it’s my hope that she’ll get interested in it enough to attempt to learn some basic tunes (the bundle I bought includes a beginner songbook and online tutorials). Then it struck me: What if she liked playing ukulele, but was disappointed in the cheap one she received?

That’s when I thought perhaps I’d get a better instrument. And my plan was hatched: I’d give her the Lidl uke, and in seven months, when her birthday came around, I’d gift her with an “upgrade.”

I found a bundle on Sweetwater and ordered it. The bundle includes the Kala KA-15c Mahogany Concert Ukulele, strap, clip-on tuner, and gig bag. A concert ukulele is slightly larger than a soprano, but given the diminutive nature of a ukulele, I don’t think the size will be a detriment for my granddaugher.

And, of course, I get to play with it for the next seven months!