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Post by kevmc1180 on Dec 17, 2015 23:35:24 GMT
I'm a fairly novice guitar player I can play guitar away strumming chords to sings ect....
However not a finger picker or classical player like some forum users here.
I have always had a yearning to try playing Ukuele.
Are they easy/not too difficult to play?
Whats the difference between body shapes?
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maninashed
Cheerfully Optimistic
Mad Farmer Liberation Front
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Post by maninashed on Dec 18, 2015 3:01:29 GMT
Ukes are great for strumming chords and singing. They are tuned gCEA, which is the same as capoing a standard tuned guitar at the 5th fret, except the g string is higher than the C and E strings, what's called re-entrant tuning. This helps give them their distinct sound. Chord shapes are different to guitar, but easy to learn.
The main types of uke are soprano, concert and tenor. Soprano is the original size and the smallest body and scale length, concert and bit bigger body and longer neck and tenor larger still. The longer the neck, the larger the fret spacing, which affects how they feel to play and the greater the string tension, which, with the larger body size affects how they sound. Concert and tenors are more resonant and 'guitar like', sopranos have that percussive typical uke sound when strummed.
The tradition uke style is to accompany singing with strummed chords. But the high voicing and re-entrant tuning make it a treat to play fingerstyle in capanella style, where open strings are let ring as much as possible, or banjo clawhammer style.
Pretty good ones are quite cheap, so I would say indulge your yearning if you can! Ukes are great fun but are serious instruments in their own right. It would be good to try one to see how you got on with it.
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Post by vikingblues on Dec 18, 2015 8:18:54 GMT
There's short instructional videos here that give an idea of basic uke playing. ukulele undergroundThe link below has a good picture that contrasts body sizes. Ukulele Body SizesIn addition to the three sizes maninashed mentions there is also a baritone which is getting rather near to a tenor guitar in sound / size. The soprano seems to be the typical "starter" uke. But be warned it is VERY small and Concert of Tenor sizes could be a best bet. So the left hand can feel very cramped. The even smaller sopranissimo mentioned in that link but not pictured is very minute - having tried one of that size in a shop I would struggle to recommend one! The soprano does have the most typical uke sound of course - the larger the body size gets the less uke like and more guitar like it sounds. So it's a balancing act - what ticks the boxes best for playability v the uke sound. The word fun is one that often comes up when uke players talk about the instrument. They are not too difficult to play if you find one that's not too small for you - nylon strings help. My better half has been bitten by the bug and is the uke player here and has had sopranos, concerts, tenors, and a baritone in her collection. Her final verdict has been of concert size as the most suitable for her, and I think I'd agree from my own point of view - my one and only uke is a concert - a rather nice Ohana with a solid mahogany top which came my way when my wife got an Ohana from higher up their quality range. Much the same applies to ukes as guitars regarding sound quality v price and solid v laminate woods etc.. How far can you take a uke as a serious instrument? ..... Perhaps I should say how far can Jake Shimabukuro take a uke as a serious instrument? Mark
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Post by kevmc1180 on Dec 18, 2015 8:41:00 GMT
Thanks gorgeous the input. Lots of interesting information there cheers. What size is being played in the above video. ? I have watched that guy before. Amazing
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Dec 18, 2015 9:01:24 GMT
HI,
Its been reported this year that the Uke is enjoying a surge in popularity in UK. I don't play myself but some of the guitar group I teach for our local U3A has joined up with another U3A group locally to form a Uke group and they now have about 20 members. With everyone being over 55 the advantage of the Uke appears to be the relatively easy chords and the much easier stretch required to get the basics; those who suffer from arthritis find it a much easier job that the guitar. I gather the same is true in schools where there also has been an increase uptake; add this to being able to pick a playable uke up relatively cheaply and it seems a winning formula.
Our guitar group now join up with the uke group once a month for a singalong and have just done their first public performance; very low key but great fun. The group have called themselves '4 bars of sea' because that's how they normally start!
It's not my favourite sound personally but if it gets older and younger folks involved in music which they otherwise wouldn't then it's great!
FFJ Attachments:
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minorkey
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Post by minorkey on Dec 18, 2015 11:58:11 GMT
If I can play them then yes
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Post by scorpiodog on Dec 18, 2015 12:39:09 GMT
Ukes are brilliant. Really easy for a guitar player to convert to because the chord shapes are analogous to those on a standard tuned guitar (but 5 frets up) I fully echo the words said about sizes. A soprano is very tiny. I play a concert sized uke. I've tried a tenor, but find it too guitar like, and I want a different sound if I'm playing a different instrument. They're incredibly portable, and the re-entrant 4th string gives a quality that is really unique. It does test your strummage skills, though. Mine have a really short sustain, and so I find they suit faster songs far better than slower more soulful songs, and, despite the brilliance of players like Jake Shimabukuro, I really think of the uke as an accompaniment instrument. One interesting thing I've found, is that if you buy old sheet music and songbooks from the 30's, 40's and 50's (which I do from time to time), they often have uke chord shapes as part of the package. It seems that the usual tuning was slightly different in those days, but it's still fun to try them out. If you're a show of hands fan, their Venezuelan cuatro stuff can be handled quite well on a uke (you tune it up a full tone from standard uke tuning, I seem to remember) and the latest Steve Knightley songbook has a short section at the end where some of the cuatro songs are explained and annotated in cuatro tab. So, versatile, easy, fun, relatively cheap. What more encouragement do you need.
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Post by grayn on Dec 18, 2015 13:01:12 GMT
Are Ukuele's easy to grasp ? Yeah! Round neck, so you can....................*?!!£$%^ Sorry
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Post by kevmc1180 on Dec 18, 2015 19:09:35 GMT
How much would one spend on one. I don't want a cheap toy that won't sound good or that you would end up selling in six months. What brands are good these days?
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maninashed
Cheerfully Optimistic
Mad Farmer Liberation Front
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Post by maninashed on Dec 19, 2015 7:21:02 GMT
You can get them very cheap but as usual you get what you pay for and there's a reason for them being very cheap. A reasonable, inexpensive soprano would be a something like a Makala MK-S or Makala Dolphin for something a bit more colourful, both for about £40.
As with any instrument it's always best to go to a music shop and try a few out if you're thinking of buying one. Ukes feel very strange at first if you're used to guitar because they are so small but you soon get used to the size.
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Post by vikingblues on Dec 19, 2015 7:55:07 GMT
There are a lot of makers of ukes, and a great number of these sound good and are good value for money. You're right to avoid the cheapest - a lot of these really are just toys. What I've seen suggests that there is a noticeable difference in quality between instruments in say the £75 area and those in the £125 area. You can certainly get a good starter instrument at that lower price but if the bug bites you will probably look to get better before too long. Just like guitars. Also just like guitars price on its own is not an indicator of good / bad. Unfortunately a lot of guitar shops seem very unadventurous in their choice of ukes - a lot just stock the same brands as they have with guitars. So a lot of the nicer ukes are only available on line and it's not possible to try before you buy. A trawl online around somewhere like Southern Ukulele Store will show that wide range of makers. A couple of names that I would throw in that have produced the better instruments in my wifes collection are Kala and Ohana. But within these names is a big range of quality of instrument as is reflected in the prices. At Southern for example the Kala range goes from £50-£350 and the Ohana £85 -£389. Brands like Pono concentrate more exclusively on the quality end so at Southern their range starts at just under £300. I'm not convinced that the well known guitar names are a good bet for a uke. In answer to your earlier question I think Jake Shimabukuro plays a custom made tenor from Kamaka Ukulele. With Kamaka I think it safe to say that even their standard instruments are not cheap! Mark
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Post by allthumbs on Dec 19, 2015 20:18:45 GMT
Try before you buy is always the best way. Tanglewood ukes are pretty good and excellent for the money. I don't have one but have had a go on a few at the local music shop. They are well put together and play well. I obtained a killer of uke for £25 - a painted pink one which I think is a Kala clone - which has a perfect set up and perfect intonation. So it goes to show if you try, you can get a real bargain.
One of the reasons to try before you buy - especially for soprano sized models - is that they can suffer badly with intonation on the C string (the thick one). They can play sharp (almost a semi-tone) as you fret the C string and require a lot of nut and bridge filing to sort out. Larger models seem to suffer less. A concert sized is perhaps the best all round uke shape/size there is. For about £200, you can get a hand built one from Rob Collins at TinGuitar.com which will have a perfect set up, intonation and bell like tone.
I've found that Worth Browns (fluorocarbon) are the best strings to make cheap ukes sound really nice. Not cheap strings to buy but they are easily long enough to get two sets out of. They last for ages too. I prefer Ken Middleton's Living Water Sttings for my better ukes as they have a real 'bell' like quality to them. Ken Middleton also represents Ohana ukuleles and has no doubt been responsible for improving their standard build and set up standards.
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Post by guzzler on Dec 19, 2015 23:21:08 GMT
Just chipping in to give another vote for concert size as being most user friendly. I also endorse the use of Worth or Living Water strings. At the moment I have Worths on my Kala mango tenor and Living Water on my Laka concert and am happy with both. Lots of people like Aquila strings but I'm not keen. Whichever strings you do end up with they'll take a while to settle in which can be a bit of a pain, but they're certainly easier on the fingers than steel guitar strings.
If you can play guitar you'll pick up uke in no time at all, the problem will be in putting it back down again.
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minorkey
C.O.G.
Too many instruments, too little time
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Post by minorkey on Dec 20, 2015 11:45:08 GMT
The only trouble with the ukulele is you're expected to sing. Practically every video you find of them the player is singing. I do not sing!
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Post by kevmc1180 on Dec 20, 2015 14:34:50 GMT
The only trouble with the ukulele is you're expected to sing. Practically every video you find of them the player is singing. I do not sing! Im with you on that one too..... Its a bit of a turn off for me, as im a terrible singer...
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