Interview with Brittni Paiva

Jul 14, 2009 ~ Brittni Paiva is one of Hawai’i's premier ‘ukulele players. She picked up the ‘ukulele at age 11 and has since then released three albums. Now at 20, Brittni is working on a fourth album and continuing to tour around the states. I was able to interview her via email. Thanks Brittni!

Hippie Guy: As a young artist, what goals do you have for your future – what do you foresee as being the height of your career?

Brittni Paiva: I would absolutely LOVE to perform with my favorite artists one day – John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Fourplay, just to name a few. That would be the height of my career!

HG: Who do you consider your musical heroes?

BP: Herb Ohta, Jr. was my first musical hero. He was the ukulele player that I imitated for a long time. I wanted to play just like him. Some of my current musical heros include John Mayer, Santana, Ne-Yo, Marty Freidman, Jeff Beck, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

HG: What is the most important thing you have practiced, and how has it improved your playing?

BP: The most important thing I’ve practiced was consistency. Whatever I played, I played it over and over and over again to make sure that all of my notes were clean, clear, and appealing to the ear. I worried less about speed and show and concentrated more on being precise with my notes and fingering.

HG: What has been your favorite performance and why?

BP: Honestly, I can’t decide which would be my favorite! There have been so many that I’ve really enjoyed!

HG: I see on your website that you have a new album in the works. What kinds of new things is it going to present to listeners?

BP: Well, I’ll be presenting even more variety and different styles of music on the ukulele. I’ve also written more music so they’ll be on there too. [Update: Brittni's new album is called "Four Strings: The Fire Within". You can buy it from her site ~ BB]