It appears that the ukulele is getting popular again. The twangy four-stringed instrument is being heard in pop songs and placed front and center in music store windows.

Part of this upswing can be attributed to musicians such as Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band, who will be performing at Dragonfly DuLou in Los Angeles on Sunday. Other shows include Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge on Oct. 19 and 20, as well as the Talking Stick Coffee Lounge in Venice on Oct. 19.

“People are starving for a way to interact, to really be able to share, to connect, and nothing in the world connects us as well as music does,” Swedberg said.

Swedberg is an actress, a musician and a music teacher. She is best known for playing George Costanza’s fiancée, Susan Ross, on “Seinfeld,” but has also been in shows such as “Quantum Leap” and “Bones,” and films such as “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael” and “Hot Shots!”

She believes that the ukulele is a good way to enter into music because “it’s a simpler musical instrument than a kazoo, but better than a kazoo.”

“You can sing while you play it,” she said.

Joining her as the core members of the Sukey Jump Band are multi-instrumentalist John Reynolds Bartlit and guitarist Daniel Ward. A long list of other musicians scattered across the United States also sit in on occasion. The group released the album, “My Cup of Tea” (Sukey Jump Music), on Sept. 10.

“This (album) is geared pretty broadly because it came about after performing a few years,” Swedberg said.

The Park La Brea resident’s first effort, “Play,” was recorded to allow her ukulele students to become familiar with the songs they were learning and to use as a rehearsal track.

Swedberg was surprised when people began buying it just to enjoy. Ahe was even more surprised when the album led to an invitation to perform. But she said yes, pulled together a band for the show, and hasn’t looked back.

“My Cup of Tea” features a selection of original and cover songs, including “Turn the World Around,” a perky piece in an unusual 5/4 time signature, and Goebel Reeves’ “Hobo’s Lullaby,” which Swedberg learned from Arlo Guthrie.

When it comes to her own material, Swedberg lets her creativity take the helm.

“The songs write themselves,” Swedberg said. “I just get out of the way.”

Like “Play,” with “My Cup of Tea” Swedberg wanted to create another album to help her students learn and be inspired. She teaches ukulele to all ages from children to new parents and their babies and retired seniors.

Music has always been a big part of Swedberg’s life.

“I have three older sisters and we always sang in the car. That’s how our parents kept us from driving them crazy, I think,” Swedberg said.

The girls also sang in church choir and Girl Scouts. At age 5, Swedberg was given a ukulele and quickly learned three chords: C, F and G7, which can be used to play almost any song.

“You hand someone a ukulele, you can teach them those three chords in one day, and all of a sudden they’re completely empowered,” she said. “People who thought they’re not musical — say they don’t know how — realize ‘I can play anything I want.’ It’s such an incredible moment.”

As a teen, she loaned her ukulele to a boyfriend, who never returned it. She was focused on becoming an actress, so she wasn’t overly concerned. Swedberg went on to college and a busy acting career.

“One day someone said, ‘Do you play guitar?’ It was for a role, and I said, ‘Of course I do.’ So I went and got myself a baritone ukulele because I figured it’s TV and they don’t know the difference,” Swedberg said.

Swedberg was either right or the television pilot director didn’t care because she got the singer/songwriter part. This rekindled her interest in the instrument so she began taking lessons at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica.

After she had children, she discovered they connected to the songs she played and this spurred her to put together music programs for her kids’ school, which gradually led her to teaching her own workshops and classes.

Swedberg still acts occasionally.

“When the right project comes up I jump on it, but mostly it’s music on a whole bunch of different levels,” Swedberg said. “The thing I love most about performing is being able to connect and getting people to sing along, play along. I love having people join me on stage.”

Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band plans to end the year with tours in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, as well as several ukulele festivals. They are also planning to record another album that will be very different from their previous efforts, she said.

“I encourage people to get an instrument. Buy the best starter instrument they can afford for themselves and buy a cheap workable instrument for a good $30 for their kids and play together,” Swedberg said. “I really urge people to make their own fun.”

And to get you started, Swedberg provides the chords and lyrics for the entire “My Cup of Tea” album free on her website, www.sukeyjumpmusic.com, so you can play along.