Why do people say sopranos are hard to play?

wherahiko

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There are many comments on the internet, here and elsewhere, suggesting that "sopranos are hard to play". They usually mention the close fret spacing and short string length. But a soprano's string length is almost identical to that of a violin, and that hasn't stopped people playing Paganini caprices on violin(!). (In fact, it's usually considered harder to play such virtuosic music on the viola.) The soprano's string length is also identical to a mandolin, but Chris Thile, Mike Marshall and others can work wonders on mandolin.

Is it possible to play Jake style on a soprano? Does anyone do it? I ask this in earnest. I've never played a tenor, and like the size and sound of sopranos and concerts. Do I need a tenor in order to attempt the figurations that Jake, James et. al. do on their tenors?
 
Just play what ya like and have fun. My sizes of choice is a sopranino, and Concert. I have no idea why people would say Soprano is hard to play. I played Soprano almost exclusively. Its not a "size thing" because I am 6'5" and several years ago weighed 700 lbs, and played my Soprano and Sopranino with no problem (I gave IZ a run for his money Girthwise, not musical wise. ;) ). Thank God I am not 700 lbs anymore (lost over 350 of those), but still play the sopranino, and a concert.
 
I think it's often the narrow nut width that can make a soprano feel cramped. Especially with three or four finger chords, if the nut is narrow it can be hard to squash them in. The violin comparison doesn't work very well because there are no frets to restrict the space and they are usually played for melody (one note at a time) rather than rhythm (all strings at once). Proper mandolin technique is very different to playing a uke - instead of barring, for example, the strings are close enough to fret two courses (i.e. four strings) with the pad of one finger. Apples and oranges!

I have a two sopranos with the typical 34mm nut width and one that's a shade over 35mm at the nut. The difference in ease of playing is ridiculous - 1mm shouldn't make that much difference but it really does. Would like to try one of the properly wide nut ones like a Martin or Kiwaya at some point.
 
I agree, play what you want, a soprano just has less sustain than larger ukes. It isn't my preferred scale, but I did have an electro acoustic soprano with low G strings when I started my uke journey.
 
Where is the "can of worms" Emoji when you need one:p
 
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Is it possible to play Jake style on a soprano? Does anyone do it? I ask this in earnest. I've never played a tenor, and like the size and sound of sopranos and concerts. Do I need a tenor in order to attempt the figurations that Jake, James et. al. do on their tenors?

Generally no, it wouldn't be, because most of Jake's music leverages a lot of the real estate of a tenor fretboard, and a soprano doesn't have the same octave range.

That's not to say that in the right hands somebody cannot shred on a soprano. If you're not familiar with him, check out George Elmes.
 
I have a preference for the Soprano size but did find an issue with fingerspace until I respaced the strings (special replacement nut). I don’t finger pick (yet) so am limited to strumming and the first five frets, but some folk manage to finger pick on the higher frets easily enough. Assuming reasonable finger mobility and dexterity the Soprano, with 10 mm spaced Strings, is perfectly playable if less forgiving of poor technique and quieter than its larger brothers.
 
I don’t know why, my girlfriend is a soprano and she’s not hard to play at all &#55357;&#56860;&#55357;&#56906;
 
Generally no, it wouldn't be, because most of Jake's music leverages a lot of the real estate of a tenor fretboard, and a soprano doesn't have the same octave range.

That's not to say that in the right hands somebody cannot shred on a soprano. If you're not familiar with him, check out George Elmes.

I'm not sure what you're saying here, and because of that, I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with you, but from the photos I've seen, Jake's uke has 18 frets. My soprano has 17. Both are strung reentrant, so they have nearly the same octave range. Of course they don't sound the same. Could you please clarify?

I agree completely about George!

When playing soprano or concert, and probably tenor too, it's a major benefit of you can bend the first joint of your finger and cover two or three strings at once. I can't imagine doing D any other way. And as mentioned, a wide neck can be nice. As far as difficulty goes, each size has its challenges. I find the distance between frets on anything larger than a concert difficult. The kind of music you want to play is a big factor in which size will be easiest.

Having said all that I see no reason you couldn't try the acrobatics of any tenor player on a concert. I think playing like George on a tenor would be difficult! Playing like George on anything would be difficult.
 
I'm not sure what you're saying here, and because of that, I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with you, but from the photos I've seen, Jake's uke has 18 frets. My soprano has 17. Both are strung reentrant, so they have nearly the same octave range. Of course they don't sound the same. Could you please clarify?

Sure, let me try it this way. The scale length determines how many frets are useable. The typical soprano is 13" scale or thereabouts. A tenor is 17". The longer scale provides a much wider range of useable notes available.
 
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Sure, let me try it this way. The number of frets is not what determines the octive range. The scale is the determining factor. The typical soprano is 13" scale or thereabouts. A tenor is 17". The longer scale provides a much wider range of notes available.

Would this not be determined by the number of frets rather than the scale length?
 
Would this not be determined by the number of frets rather than the scale length?

Fret placement is mathematically determined by scale length. The range from the lowest to highest note is constrained by the scale. There is a question of how many frets a luthier choses to provide, but the maximum number is limited by the scale length, though certainly usefulness comes into question as frets can get so narrow as to be useless. That's why you see some sopranos with only 12 frets and others with more. It's very challenging for most people to make worthy notes much above the 12th fret of a soprano.
 
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A lot of fingerstyle, Jake and others, can be done in 15 frets. I have tried to play that style and the real estate is a little to compressed for me. However if you look at the late John King, the answer should be yes. What an amazing person and player.

John
 
Why do people say sopranos are hard to play?

Sounds like beginners just parroting what they heard from someone else, who was also woefully misinformed...

...which happens often due to either ignorance and/or lack of hands-on personal experience.

--

A 17-18 fret soprano, strung either re-entrant or linear, when compared to concert or tenor with SAME number of frets and also strung/tuned re-entrant or linear to MATCH the tuning of the soprano, in fact all have the same 'relative note range'.

To suggest that a 17 fret soprano and a 17 fret tenor have different note ranges when tuned/strung the same, is simply incorrect.

I suggest that folks on this tangent check their facts with either a tuner or on Wikipedia via:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele#Types_and_sizes.

However, as usual, the opinion of some folks will not change the facts of science, but the facts of science can influence those folks with an open mind, to change their opinions.

Opinions are like the genes in our DNA, everybody's got some, which includes defective/recessive ones. :)
 
ahoy

don't think playing soprano
is any harder than playing tenor or concert

have tried all three
fell in love with the sound and feel of soprano

your results may vary
offer not good in sector R or D

yours truly
mac
 
After a bit of experimenting with different size ukuleles (soprano, concert, tenor) I consider the concert to be the most comfortable for me personally. The concert is my every day player. To introduce some variety, I bought a soprano with 14 frets to the body and a wider 1.5 inch nut. Some stuff is easier, some is harder, but all in all it's perfectly fine. The soprano will serve me quite well as my outdoor uke that fits better inside my sea kayak. I will probably add a long neck soprano to get the soprano sound with the concert scale that I find more comfortable. I have a lovely tenor that I've tried to embrace, but it just feels too big for me, so I'm sending it on to a new owner. I think what's easy or difficult depends on way too many variables to classify.... like hand size, finger size, dexterity & flexibility, style of play, and personal preference to name a few.

I not sure if this is a soprano or a concert, but this dude is having a lot of fun on the ukulele..... Australian actor who plays guitar and ukulele.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_SH5w2hZt4
 
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Well, I own Soprano, Concert, and Tenor ukes, and I find Sopranos a little bit cramped. Just personal preference, but that's why I say it.
 
Hi, MopMan!

Would this not be determined by the number of frets rather than the scale length?

We have always only 12 frets in the first 1/2 of the scale (see the figure below). We can not add many frets in the 2nd half. The only way to expand second half is adding scale length. We often shift neck joint from 12 to 14 fret.



It is only 3 fret difference in this case on the figure. Soprano with low G string is larger range than high G tenor. Soprano is not bad at all.
 
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But a soprano's string length is almost identical to that of a violin, and that hasn't stopped people playing Paganini caprices on violin(!). (In fact, it's usually considered harder to play such virtuosic music on the viola.)

That depends entirely on the person. While I'm certainly not a virtuoso, I began my playing career on violin, and switched to viola in my mid twenties. It suited me a whole lot better, and despite being a woman of average to short height and build, the tension problems I'd been having with violin melted away. Yes, I found it easier to play the same pieces on viola than violin. I'm convinced it's something rooted in the neck and shoulder posture. Anyway, years later I found that mandola suited me better than mandolin as well, to the point that my left hand was far more comfortable stretching to reach notes than it was scrunching down to fit a lot of fingers in a small space. And when I discovered ukuleles, I gravitated toward the bigger ones as well, for similar reasons. It's all good, because the lower tonalities appeal to me more anyway. Guess I was just meant to play the bigger instruments, although violin was great to learn on as a child.

bratsche
 
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