ZELIENOPLE — About 10 years ago, Sandy Faulkner bought a banjo and took lessons for two months.

She steadfastly remained dedicated to her new instrument, practicing every day for longer than her teacher recommended.

“I asked the teacher ‘When will I start having fun?’” she recalled. “He said ‘In two years you might start having fun.’”

So Faulkner put down the complicated banjo and picked up a simple four-string ukulele, and she’s been happily strumming away ever since.

She and her ukulele group member Joanne Leslie took lessons at Guitar Center in Pittsburgh.

“We learned a lot,” Leslie said.

Faulkner said their teacher left Pittsburgh to play guitar on the Jonas Brothers tour.

Faulkner served as a ukulele teacher in June at the University of Pittsburgh’s Make Music Day.

“It took the students 15 minutes to learn three chords, and that will enable them to play 200 songs,” she said.

“So pretty much every song from the ’60s,” Leslie said.

Faulkner said the group formed in 2014 at Unitarian Universalist Church in the North Hills.

Community and church members in the group range from ukulele experts to newbies who had never picked up an instrument.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and put the brakes on everything.

“After the pandemic, I wanted to get back into ukulele because I kind of forgot the chords,” Faulkner said.

So she approached officials at Lutheran SeniorLife’s Passavant Community in Zelienople about starting a ukulele group there.

The group has been meeting at the campus’ Abundant Life Center for about six months, Faulkner said.

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, Faulkner and two other group members met there to discuss the happy group.

Faulkner said when she first started the group at Passavant, there was so much excitement and participation that she and a few others had to book appointments to teach newbies the basics of playing the ukulele.

Suzan Abel, a co-leader of the group, said in addition to the ease of learning the ukulele, which looks like a tiny guitar, the hobby is inexpensive compared to many instruments.

She said a decent ukulele can be purchased for under $100.

“All of us have attachments for amplifiers, if you really want to disturb your neighbors,” Leslie said with a mischievous wink.

In the group that plays at Passavant, there is no need to possess the ability to read music, as all the chords are listed in the songbooks that are used.

“I think it’s the easiest stringed instrument to play,” Faulkner said.

She said those who play the ukulele are among the most approachable musicians.

“Some people say that you can’t be a snob while playing a ukulele,” Faulkner said.

The group is comprised of both men and women who are residents at Passavant or community members.

They meet from 11 a.m. to noon every other Wednesday in the Abundant Life Center. Eight to 10 people usually attend.

Each player names a song to play, and the group plays and sings along.

Faulkner said there is no pressure on any group members regarding their skill level.

“If you don’t know a chord, other people know it,” she said. “You just skip it.”

Faulkner said the group has loaner “ukes” new players can use to see if they are enjoying the hobby before investing in their own instrument. Group members also will tune ukuleles for group members.

In addition to fun and camaraderie, the group also provides real benefits to some Passavant residents.

“It keeps their brain working,” Leslie said.

“It gets them into a group,” Faulkner said.

Abel said one man in the group swears that the motion of playing the ukulele eases the pain and stiffness of the arthritis that plagues his hands.

“Ukuleles can be considered a type of therapy,” she said.

Faulkner said the wife of a group member attends just to sing along with the songs that are played.

“It’s fun and relaxing,” Leslie said.

Faulkner said many connections are forged at the group meetings.

“You get to know a lot of nice, caring people,” she said. “There’s just something about the ukulele.”

“You get to be very, very close with your fellow ukulele players,” Leslie said. “We go to dinner and things.”

Faulkner said one of the group leaders recently died, and she plans to bring the family a cake and offer a ukulele performance in her memory at the funeral.

The group also plans to perform Nov. 12 at the Passavant Community Talent Show at the Scholl Center.

They don’t want to give too much away about their plans, but said they are in it to win it.

Anyone is welcome to join the group.