Why do people say sopranos are hard to play?

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.

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.

I get what you are saying: extra frets may not be useful on a soprano because the spacing will be tight. Whether they exist is influenced by the scale length of the instrument and whether they are usable depends on your dexterity. But those extra frets do determine the effective range of the instrument.

To answer OP wherahiko's original question then, it might be best to suggest that soprano ukuleles and larger scale instruments might better suit different styles of play. If you want to use 100% of your fretboard real estate, a soprano may well be more difficult to play depending on your personal physiology and skill. If you are just strumming on the first 5 frets, then it all comes down to preference.
 
Hi, viola (bratche)!

When anyone talks about the size of instruments, I always recall Inotomo. She is superb musical in Japan. Her instruments are guitalele and Gibson's jumbo guitar. I prefer small guitars and ukulele.

 
I get what you are saying: extra frets may not be useful on a soprano because the spacing will be tight. Whether they exist is influenced by the scale length of the instrument and whether they are usable depends on your dexterity. But those extra frets do determine the effective range of the instrument.

To answer OP wherahiko's original question then, it might be best to suggest that soprano ukuleles and larger scale instruments might better suit different styles of play. If you want to use 100% of your fretboard real estate, a soprano may well be more difficult to play depending on your personal physiology and skill. If you are just strumming on the first 5 frets, then it all comes down to preference.

Well said.

Another point is that a soprano body will not have the same resonance as a tenor body which would also make it challenging to reproduce the sound of certain music composed on a tenor and availing itself of much of the fretboard real estate.
 
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(!).

A classic example of not comparing like-to-like and making an invalid conclusion!

Take a statement out of context or abbreviated and you can make spaghetti taste like steak!

Sopranos are "hard to play" when fretting four-finger chords with big fingers ... simple arithmetic ... they just won't fit comfortably.

Violins are primarily used to play melodies, mostly one note at a time ... finger-size doesn't come into it.

String a soprano ukulele like a violin (AKA 5th's tuning, GDAE) and you'll be able to play Paganini caprices using the same fingering that you would on a violin ... you'll need an adept right hand and it won't sound the same, but it could be done!
 
Great discussion that I think may have cured my UAS as it has clarified so many things for me.
 
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Hi, Dave!



Here we have a can of worms!


Thanks ZZ

I will give my 2 cents. A soprano is harder for "me" to play cleanly then a tenor because of the tight fret spacing, especially above the 5th fret. There are many excellent players that do a great job well up the neck on a soprano, I am not one of them.

Sopranos are fun to play, the small size makes it comfortable and relaxing to play and hold.
 
I love drama, especially violin drama. I don't know all the math when it comes to ukulele scales. And I don't do a lot of comparison studies, because I don't have a very big selection of ukuleles to compare to each other. Besides, my brain doesn't work that way anyway. But I play a concert, and my one and only ukulele student has a soprano. Because she likes to be plugged in so she can be a rock star, and because her little soprano doesn't have a pickup, when she comes for lessons we trade. I have not even noticed the difference between the two when it comes to playing them. And evidently she hasn't either, because we go back and forth between the two and neither of us seem to suffer because of it. Furthermore, I'm not playing up above the 12th fret anyway. I mean, if someone is playing above the 12th fret, they aren't doing what I'm doing. I'm playing songs and singing them, not dinking around up there in the high notes, so for me that isn't an issue. That has been my limited experience.
 
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For me the advantage of the tenor vs. the soprano comes in the sound I get out of notes beyond the 7th fret. I play pretty low cost instruments so it may not by an issue on higher quality ukes. I found anything on 10th/12th fret was way too plinky on a soprano. I still love it for strumming away chords. I want to see if the longer neck sopranos do a little better with the higher notes.
 
Theres also the issue of reach. Getting to 15 on a tenor is just over the body edge. On a sop, it's going to be three frets over the body. Being able to finger stuff farther over the body is harder. If you're just tring to bar, and extend with a pinky on the A string... thats not so bad, but if you're trying to go across the fretboard above the 12th, it's going to be harder on a sop than a tenor. I don't go there often, but I do sometimes.

And obviously people do play up there... or there would be no need for a cutaway
 
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.
Thanks, I see what you're saying.
 
Not hard for me! I play my fastest on a soprano. But I don't have giant man hands, I have short little lady fingers. :D
 
I never heard anyone saying that soprano is hard to play. And if they would, I'd disagree.
However, most very cheap ukuleles are sopranos, and some (maybe most) of these toys ARE hard to play.
But if you got a real instrument it is not hard to play.

What I don't like on soprano is that most just have 12 bars. I often need at least 13, and 15 are even better. Everything above though I think is not really usable (on sopranos).
 
I have a few ukes..I prefer my sopranos..fits in the arm nice..I think playing chords on the soprano easier! When I first started playing soprano I went for wider neck but nowadays I much prefer narrow neck..and of course sopranos have such a lovely chirpy sound
 
I don't find any scale of uke easier or more difficult than any other.

When you first buy an instrument of a different scale length than the one(s) you are used to then there is a period of adjustment as you get used to the new size when it might feel more difficult but over time that feeling goes. At least it did for me.
 
I am a big chap with quite large hands,and my
'weapon of choice' is always a soprano! I have
tried every scale there is, (and currently still own
two concert scale instruments) but as my signature
implies,Soprano's are what 'does it' for me!
 
I find Soprano very pleasant to play. I used to think I were a Concert man, but lately I prefer Soprano more. I am also a cello player so I am used to long scale length.
The sound and size of a Soprano just make me happy.
 
Who is this person that says sopranos are harder to play ?
 
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