My Dog Has Fleas - perhaps you've heard someone sing this phrase when describing the re-entrant tuning that a ukulele is commonly played in. The notes that correspond with it in our modern day uke circles are GCEA. But where did that silly little phrase come from?
It seems to be one of those questions that yields more questions than it does answers. The truth of the matter is that no one really knows the origin of "My Dog Has Fleas". While it's probably not related in any way, it's interesting to note that the Hawaiian word "ukulele" literally means "jumping flea".
All throughout it's history, music has been filled with mnemonic devices to aid us in remembering. For instance, my elementary music teacher used a series of acronyms to help us remember the notes on the lines of the staff - "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and "Good Boys Do Fine Always". I think that these two phrases are quite common in musical teaching curriculum.
At least the above examples make some kind of sense, whereas "My Dog Has Fleas" doesn't seem to. But hey, whatever works, right?
