Does switching to a different size ukulele help improve faster?

IamNoMan said:

Thanks for your clarifications. I think I'll adjust the scale length to 13.5" on my soprano banjolele and check it's intonation. Should improve my intonation anyway. I'm uncertain as to the significance of the nut to body length. I don't expect I'll be playing that high on the neck anytime soon. what's the skinny on the nut to body length?

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The longer neck (nut to body length reference) allows for greater distance between frets. Here are some samples I have measured from the nut to the first fret. Tenor=15/16", Concert=7/8" and Soprano=3/4". Different manufactures may vary a bit but smaller size instruments have smaller sized fret spacing compared to bigger sized instrument. I like the longer neck of a tenor when I am playing barr chords down around the 7th fret or higher because I don't feel as cramped up as I do on a soprano. Others could experience the exact opposite and like the shorter neck length better. Some like chocolate some like vanilla.

To the OP's question I have found the same improvements switching from one instrument to another. It is very much like cross training, using muscles in slighty different ways. The lower tension strings on a soprano helps to develop a softer lower tension touch. Tenor is like training wheels with all that space between frets.

pritch said:

May I express my gratitude to the OP? I had been considering a soprano as a more "traditional" instrument but didn't feel I could justify a third uke. His post might swing it.

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Awesome! Get one!

I personally am glad I bought a soprano even though I also mainly play bigger ukes. It makes concert neck seem spacious. And it's also good for traveling!

IamNoMan
While a banjolele has a movable bridge, there is only one position to place the bridge for proper intonation. To find the place, first put the bridge twice the distance from the nut to the 12th fret. Then play a fretted note at the 12th fret and a harmonic at the 12th fret and compare the pitch. If the fretted note is sharper than the harmonic, move the bridge a little towards the tailpiece. If it's flat, move it towards the nut. Do this on the 1st and 4th strings and then mark the position of the bridge with a pencil on the head.
No fretted instrument has perfect intonation, but this should get you pretty close.

Interesting thread.... I used to feel that switching ukuleles slowed down my learning, but now I actually thinks it helps me to be more flexible and keeps my attention better. Although, I have noticed that when I'm trying to learn an especially difficult song passage, it does seem to help if I stick to one ukulele, until I become more competent with it.

Great post!
I agree, with having a different size to play can improve playing and as well as the fun factor. i began with a soprano and felt crowded. ordered a tenor and was able to get a few fingerings down, but now can play those on the soprano. ordered a concert, well, because, and love the compromise in size. not to mention they sound different. but i dofind rotating among the quiver helps m improvement.

DownUpDave said:

To the OP's question I have found the same improvements switching from one instrument to another. It is very much like cross training, using muscles in slighty different ways. The lower tension strings on a soprano helps to develop a softer lower tension touch. Tenor is like training wheels with all that space between frets.

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Actually, I feel that the extra space between frets (and the added tension) makes playing a tenor a bit harder for me. But I'm sure it's because I have had a tenor for just a short time...and I do have quite short fingers. Still, it's great practice! Not to mention that the tenor sound has a lot more depth.

......In summary a concert has a longer scale length, longer neck and more space between each fret. .....

Interesting!! I was always under the impression that Concerts 'had more space between each fret' than Sopranos - and so would recommend my 'beginners' to make sure they tried all 3 (Tenor as well) when making the decision to buy one - so that they were 'comfortable' with the one they purchased, particularly if they thought they had short and (what they considered) fat fingers.

On a Facebook Uke Site when I mentioned this, I was shouted down by a well known (and up til now .... respected) ukulele builder who was sick of people saying that Concerts 'had more space' than Sopranos - he said emphatically that their Fret spaces were identical and the only difference was the additional number of frets on a Concert, compared to a standard Soprano (12). He conceded that there WAS more 'space' on Tenors tho!

My own Concert vs Soprano - the neck was a tad wider on my Concert (so in my opinion, more space) and the frets WERE essentially the same (a TINY bit longer between the first 2 of about 1/16th on the concert) so my own opinion now, is that it totally depends on who builds the Soprano/Concert as to what you get. What CAN make a difference to 'comfort of playing' can be the thickness of the neck - a more rounded, thicker neck may make it harder to do some chords, whilst a flatter, thinner neck allows better placement of your hand/fingers for doing Barred chords in particular.

What I DO like about my concert is that with the longer body length, I find it MUCH more comfortable to hold both standing and sitting - it sits on your lap so much easier (IMHO) than a Soprano.

So it really is SO important to try as many ukes as you can to find the one that suits you most .... plus the sound - that is SO important too!

cheers

RP

arpie wrote:

... when I mentioned this, I was shouted down by a well known (and up til now .... respected) ukulele builder who was sick of people saying that Concerts 'had more space' than Sopranos - he said emphatically that their Fret spaces were identical and the only difference was the additional number of frets on a Concert, compared to a standard Soprano (12).

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The possible problem here is, as a builder, his "concert" ukuleles may well have been as he described, effectively what might be termed a soprano with a bigger body and a few extra (slightly cramped) frets ... it doesn't make him wrong, just different

FWIW, in some circles an 8-string soprano with a bigger body and a few extra (slightly cramped) frets is called a mandolin

May as well toss a sopranino in there as well. Helps with making barre chords, esp DIM chords a lot easier to deal with on a soprano, and helps with getting into chords faster as well. For someone like me there's not much slop in a soprano and way less so in a sopranino. And the sopranino easily fits in carryon luggage.

I started on a concert. I tried a tenor thinking it'd fit my hands better. That wasn't necessarily so. An online vendor had a blowout on Lanakai Soprano Pineapples, and I got one. I first thought it was a mistake, too small. Now however, I find something to enjoy in each of the sizes. I think concert is my favorite size, but I put Low G on the tenor and now use it for Glen Rose's Jazzy Uke and Ukulele Mike's instrumental stuff arranged for Low G. The soprano is still an enjoyable challenge. I try to play it without a leash and use simpler chord shapes. It requires careful attention to chord fingering, particularly the important 2213 Dm7 and the dims. The effort I put into those chords on the soprano benefits my playing on the other sizes as well.

I recommend a test drive on each size, and don't make up your mind too quickly.

I started on a Soprano to see if I could handle it and if I liked it;
of course I did,and soon moved on to Concert scale. Then on to
Tenor size which I played almost exclusively for two years.
Then I found myself alternating between Tenor and Soprano, and
Concert just didn't seem to do it for me,so I passed the Concert
models on. Then the Tenor seemed to lose it's special magic for me
and I reverted to Soprano. Now,aside from my hand made Concert
scale Reso uke,and my Concert scale Banjo-Uke, I play Soprano for
ukulele all the time,and have five or six knocking around!
Did swapping about improve my playing? I don't know, as I found it
a pleasure to play whatever size I was using at the time. But for me,
Soprano is now my preferred size and I reckon,always will be!