Before You Begin If you don’t already own a ukulele, here is some advice about buying one, as well as information for left-handed players, and suggestions for how to structure your progress through our six-week course for learning to play the instrument.
1. Buying a Ukulele choosing the right size Ukuleles come in a range of sizes. These are known, smallest first, as soprano, concert, tenor and baritone (see below). The beginner is not advised to choose a baritone uke. It has a similar sound to a guitar and unlike the others, is usually tuned to DGBE, like the top four strings of a guitar. In other words, you might as well just get a guitar, unless you are a ukulele purist. The choice for most uke players is between a soprano, concert and tenor size. For your first ukulele, we recommend you choose a soprano. This is considered the standard size as it has the dimensions of the original early Hawaiian instruments. Sopranos can be slightly cheaper than the larger sizes, but more important for a beginner is that it has a small neck with close-together strings. This means that it is a little easier to stretch for the more difficult chords. Sopranos also tend to have a brighter, punchier tone.
13in (33cm)
15in (38cm)
Soprano/Standard 78
19in (48cm)
17in (43cm)
13in (33cm)
Concert
How to Play: Before You Begin
Tenor
Baritone
Banjo uke/Banjolele
Some find, however, that the short, narrow neck of the soprano feels cramped, especially when their ukulele playing improves and they start playing notes and chords higher up the fretboard. The best thing to do is to try out the sizes in a music shop to see which feels best. If you already own a soprano and are thinking of getting another ukulele, it is a good idea to add a concert or tenor uke to your collection. The tenor, being the larger of the two, has a warmer tone (approaching that of a guitar). Like the concert type, it is a little louder than the soprano because its soundboard (the wood on the front of the instrument that amplifies the strings’ vibrations) has a larger area. But if it is volume you want, you could always try a banjo uke, or ‘banjolele’. This has a skin on the front, like a drum, which makes the sound quite different. It is more of a metallic, percussive, banjo-like sound, which is great for the syncopated strumming that George Formby made his own (see page 41). the type of wood One of the main factors determining the cost of a ukulele is what it is made of. The wood in cheaper ukes tends to be laminated, which means an attractive veneer is bonded onto a cheaper wood. Solid wood ukes, in which each panel (or at least the top panel) is made of a single piece of wood, are more expensive. If a ukulele’s sales description makes no mention of solid wood, it is most likely laminate. This can be fine for a starter ukulele. In fact, laminate ukes can be more robust – less likely to warp and crack in the harsh temperature and humidity variations caused by central heating. However, a laminate uke has less depth of tone and, unlike solid wood, its sound doesn’t improve with age. So if you can stretch to a uke with a solid wood top, do. Along with the type of strings (see page 114), the thickness and type of wood used for the top of a solid-wood ukulele are the most important factors in determining how it sounds. Koa, a native hardwood of Hawaii, is the traditional option. It is what all the early soprano ukuleles were made
Uke strings are tuned by adjusting the keys at the end of the neck. Friction tuners (top) are more traditional than geared or machine tuners (bottom). It is a safer bet to go for geared when you are starting out, as they tend to hold tune better and don’t require fiddling with a screwdriver to adjust their tightness. Geared tuners allow more sensitive adjustments, which make all the difference when tuning.
of, and its warm, rich tone is considered by many to be the perfect choice to enrich the naturally ‘plinky’ sound of such a small instrument. But its relative scarcity these days mean that it is one of the more expensive options. Mahogany is cheaper, far more common, and has a warm tone like koa, so is a great choice for a more affordable soprano. When it comes to the larger concert and tenor sizes, spruce can be a good and affordable option. Its bright, punchy tone means that these larger instruments still keep the distinctive ukulele sound associated with the traditional soprano size. At the end of the day, it is simply a matter of which sound you like best of the ukes in your price range. How to Play: Before You Begin
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