About Me

Samantha Muir & Uke.jpeg — Copyright Josie Elias 2018

My name is Dr. Samantha Muir. I am an Associate of the Royal College of Music, London, and in 2023 was awarded the first PhD on the ukulele (University of Surrey, UK). In 2012, after many years as a professional classical guitarist, I fell in love with the ukulele and have dedicated my life to promoting this instrument ever since. I am an arranger, composer, teacher and performer. I have given workshops and performed at events in Australia and the UK. These include the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, Uke East, Biddulph Ukulele Group, Yeovil Ukulele Festival, Highland Ukulele Gathering, Bracklesham Ukulele Weekend, Halsway Manor Ukulele Weekend, Forest Ukulele Retreat, Valla Beach Ukulele Camp, Kalamunda Ukulele Collection and Bussleton Ukulele Group. I have self published numerous ebooks of arrangements ranging from Bach, Carulli, Sor and Giuliani to sea shanties and Christmas songs. Please visit my personal website for more detailed information about all of my ebooks and CDs. In 2015 music publisher Schott commissioned me to arrange a book called 35 Scottish Tunes for Ukulele. This book includes a CD of all 35 arrangements. Since 2018 my new works for classical ukulele have been published by Les Productions d’OZ.

I’m one of the few people outside Madeira to play the machete – one of the forerunners of the ukulele – and have a keen interest in the history of the ukulele. I have given papers on the ukulele at the GFA, International Guitar Research Centre at the University of Surrey, EGTA, the 21st Century Guitar Conference, the Dublin Guitar Symposium and the Cambridge Consortium for Guitar Research at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge – of which I am a member.

In January 2021 I was featured in the Spring issue of Ukulele Magazine. You can read the interview here.

Here’s my arrangement of Annie Laurie from 35 Scottish Folk Tunes:

This is me playing my arrangement of Prelude BWV 1007 by JS Bach:

I am also interested in the history of the ukulele and play the machete de braga – one of the forerunners of the ukulele. In the photo below I am playing a machete made by Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues of Funchal. The machete de braga, or machete, is from the island of Madeira where nowadays it is called a braguinha.