Buying A Ukulele? Get Serious
With so many different types of ukuleles out there, the prospect of buying one can be unnerving. It's a tricky undertaking, especially if you're looking for a beginner or basic ukulele. If you've dug into typical sites that have ukuleles for sale at $30 or $40, you've probably seen that you won't get much more than a toy for that price and one that you can't play seriously, forget the idea of getting any real acoustic value.
Basic ukuleles come in four sizes or types. They range from the largest, a baritone, down through tenor, concert and soprano, each a little smaller than the previous. You can find anything from a high quality, well playing instrument down to what is little more than a toy. There truly is a very wide range of style and quality.
Before your purchase, it is important to consider the use you plan to make of your ukulele, and how "serious" you are about that use. We're talking serious fun here, which depends on the quality and playability of the instrument itself. Suffice it to say, regardless of all other considerations, the primary focus should be on how seriously it will be played. Let that seriousness be your measure of both quality and price.
Whoever is the intended user, how serious will that person be? Think of that user's age and level of playing proficiency. Will this be a gift for someone just learning to play (a beginner ukulele makes a very unique Christmas gift)? Is that person serious about playing, even if just playing for fun? We're back to the idea of serious fun.
A good principle to follow is that whether for a beginner or an established player, and regardless of the age, the more serious you are, the more you can expect to play, and the higher the quality you will need. Although you should expect to pay more for quality, you may not see a direct proportion. There are exceptions-some very well playing instruments are very reasonably priced, but you can expect to get what you pay for. The question of quality and price will establish your budget. Now it's time to decide which of the four types of ukuleles will fill your need.
Soprano For a beginner the soprano is a good place to start. Early ukuleles were just about all soprano-sized. It's the smallest, and from the beginning it became the classic size with the classic sound. Many gifted ukulele players swear by the soprano. Simple to play by comparison, nothing quite compares to strumming away on the smallest, some say the purest, ukulele.
With the emphasis on playing chords and strumming, playing the soprano is easier to learn than the others, but in many ways it's harder to master. Creating or playing routines involving more finger picking can be difficult, and achieving good resonance can be difficult.
Don't let its smaller size make you think the soprano is only for small people, people with small hands and fingers, like children. While the soprano is good for the young beginner, many great ukulele players, great in size as well as talent, favor sopranos. This popularity means that you will have a wide variety from which to choose, and as a rule the soprano ukulele will be priced lower.
Concert Concert is a little bigger than soprano and it therefore sounds bigger. You'll find more middle range, more alto, and a somewhat deeper, mellower sound. Some players find that a concert is easier to hold than the smaller soprano. The traditional ukulele sound with more complex playing potential makes the concert an instrument that offers the best of both worlds.
Since it is a little bigger, the concert sounds bigger than the soprano, with more middle range and a somewhat deeper, mellower, more alto sound. It's bigger, but not by much, and some say a concert is easier to hold than the smaller soprano. The concert is an instrument that offers the best of both worlds, traditional ukulele sound with more complex playing potential.
Teno Larger still and with more of a guitar look and feel is the tenor. It's still not a guitar though, and it's not intended to be. Slightly larger than a concert, but far smaller than an acoustic guitar, it carries a deeper, fuller, more resonant quality in sound and tone than the concert. The range can be extended by tuning the fourth string an octave lower. Though you may not play like Jake Shimabukuro, the tenor can be used for more advanced solo playing, and since it has more finger room, it lends itself to more complex runs and faster play.
Baritone If you already know how to play a guitar, or if you are learning to play guitar, then learning to play a baritone uke will be easier for you. Tuned like the bottom 4 strings of a guitar, the baritone uke can complement your guitar practice and vice versa. You don't have the two top strings (base) so it's like a guitar with no top end. The baritone ukulele produces a crisp, fuller sound that resembles a small guitar.
After you consider the cost plus your level of musical ability and interest in playing (seriousness), you are ready to go shopping. But before we go, there is one additional possibility that can make your selection even more meaningful. After you've checked out the complete range of ukuleles available to you, consider the possibility of building your own ukulele from scratch or assembling one from a kit.
The internet has many schematics and plans to guide you through creation from scratch. A host of sites are also available that offer basic ukulele building kits that you can start with, then finish by adding whatever components or modifications that suit your fancy. The tramp art music culture is another good place to start. This is where good-quality, well playing instruments are made from everyday components, using cigar boxes with surprising resonance. These boxes usually have a wooden back. If your level of craftsmanship warrants, you can include a simple box that you make yourself.
Whether you build your own from scratch, use a conventional or cigar box building kit, or purchase a completed instrument, you're in for some serious fun. And remember the pithy and so often repeated observation made by many serious players-you can't play a sad song on a ukulele. Whether you decide to purchase a completed instrument, build from scratch or assemble from either a cigar box ukulele kit or a conventional ukulele kit, here's to you; good luck and good building. - 18762
Basic ukuleles come in four sizes or types. They range from the largest, a baritone, down through tenor, concert and soprano, each a little smaller than the previous. You can find anything from a high quality, well playing instrument down to what is little more than a toy. There truly is a very wide range of style and quality.
Before your purchase, it is important to consider the use you plan to make of your ukulele, and how "serious" you are about that use. We're talking serious fun here, which depends on the quality and playability of the instrument itself. Suffice it to say, regardless of all other considerations, the primary focus should be on how seriously it will be played. Let that seriousness be your measure of both quality and price.
Whoever is the intended user, how serious will that person be? Think of that user's age and level of playing proficiency. Will this be a gift for someone just learning to play (a beginner ukulele makes a very unique Christmas gift)? Is that person serious about playing, even if just playing for fun? We're back to the idea of serious fun.
A good principle to follow is that whether for a beginner or an established player, and regardless of the age, the more serious you are, the more you can expect to play, and the higher the quality you will need. Although you should expect to pay more for quality, you may not see a direct proportion. There are exceptions-some very well playing instruments are very reasonably priced, but you can expect to get what you pay for. The question of quality and price will establish your budget. Now it's time to decide which of the four types of ukuleles will fill your need.
Soprano For a beginner the soprano is a good place to start. Early ukuleles were just about all soprano-sized. It's the smallest, and from the beginning it became the classic size with the classic sound. Many gifted ukulele players swear by the soprano. Simple to play by comparison, nothing quite compares to strumming away on the smallest, some say the purest, ukulele.
With the emphasis on playing chords and strumming, playing the soprano is easier to learn than the others, but in many ways it's harder to master. Creating or playing routines involving more finger picking can be difficult, and achieving good resonance can be difficult.
Don't let its smaller size make you think the soprano is only for small people, people with small hands and fingers, like children. While the soprano is good for the young beginner, many great ukulele players, great in size as well as talent, favor sopranos. This popularity means that you will have a wide variety from which to choose, and as a rule the soprano ukulele will be priced lower.
Concert Concert is a little bigger than soprano and it therefore sounds bigger. You'll find more middle range, more alto, and a somewhat deeper, mellower sound. Some players find that a concert is easier to hold than the smaller soprano. The traditional ukulele sound with more complex playing potential makes the concert an instrument that offers the best of both worlds.
Since it is a little bigger, the concert sounds bigger than the soprano, with more middle range and a somewhat deeper, mellower, more alto sound. It's bigger, but not by much, and some say a concert is easier to hold than the smaller soprano. The concert is an instrument that offers the best of both worlds, traditional ukulele sound with more complex playing potential.
Teno Larger still and with more of a guitar look and feel is the tenor. It's still not a guitar though, and it's not intended to be. Slightly larger than a concert, but far smaller than an acoustic guitar, it carries a deeper, fuller, more resonant quality in sound and tone than the concert. The range can be extended by tuning the fourth string an octave lower. Though you may not play like Jake Shimabukuro, the tenor can be used for more advanced solo playing, and since it has more finger room, it lends itself to more complex runs and faster play.
Baritone If you already know how to play a guitar, or if you are learning to play guitar, then learning to play a baritone uke will be easier for you. Tuned like the bottom 4 strings of a guitar, the baritone uke can complement your guitar practice and vice versa. You don't have the two top strings (base) so it's like a guitar with no top end. The baritone ukulele produces a crisp, fuller sound that resembles a small guitar.
After you consider the cost plus your level of musical ability and interest in playing (seriousness), you are ready to go shopping. But before we go, there is one additional possibility that can make your selection even more meaningful. After you've checked out the complete range of ukuleles available to you, consider the possibility of building your own ukulele from scratch or assembling one from a kit.
The internet has many schematics and plans to guide you through creation from scratch. A host of sites are also available that offer basic ukulele building kits that you can start with, then finish by adding whatever components or modifications that suit your fancy. The tramp art music culture is another good place to start. This is where good-quality, well playing instruments are made from everyday components, using cigar boxes with surprising resonance. These boxes usually have a wooden back. If your level of craftsmanship warrants, you can include a simple box that you make yourself.
Whether you build your own from scratch, use a conventional or cigar box building kit, or purchase a completed instrument, you're in for some serious fun. And remember the pithy and so often repeated observation made by many serious players-you can't play a sad song on a ukulele. Whether you decide to purchase a completed instrument, build from scratch or assemble from either a cigar box ukulele kit or a conventional ukulele kit, here's to you; good luck and good building. - 18762
About the Author:
Learn more about ukuleleshere. Stop by papasboxes.com and see some photos about building your own ukulele.
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