How to hold an Ukulele :D

Gelli

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I wouldnt call me a real beginner, but there is a problem I cant solve... I dont know how to hold the ukulele while Im sitting or while im standing...
Nearly all the weight of the ukulele is on my left hand. Im holding the ukulele while playing the chords with my left hand.
There must be a way to hold it "like a guitar", where you have a free left hand and all the weight is on the right arm or your legg...

Playing while standing is the same, I hold it with the left hand and push it a little bit on my brest with the right arm (but it doesnt effect much)...


Mahalo nui loa!


(another thing: I know many chords and stuff, what could I learn next?)
 
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All right, but do you guys real hold it with your left hand?
With guitar I can play for example the e chord only with fingers, my hand is not on the guitar. I dont have to hold the guitar with the left hand. This is a wonderfull free feeling which Im missing on Ukulele.
Maybe I just exegerate :D
 
It takes time to develop enough Force to make the uke levitate in front of your sternum, which is how the pros do it. But mind you, it is not an easy task. Aldrine is still holding his Mika like a first-grade padawan, and Jake has not found enough Confidence within himself to truely go one-on-one with his Kamaka and let it carry its own weight.
I could show you what it looks like, but my webcam goes snowy because of the Force Field so you will have to take my word for it.

As for things to learn: lots of chords is nice, but what about dead-on rhythm, incredible strums (triples, thumb upstroke etc) and strum patterns (do a search and you will find some practice patterns other members have made up), and lightning-quick chord changes on every count of a four-beat measure, for instance?
 
Hey Gelli,

Judging by your avatar picture, the problem might be that you're strumming your ukulele in the wrong spot.

A guitar is strummed kind of over sound hole, but a uke is typically strummed much further up the neck. (I tend to strum around the 12th-14th frets.)

The body then sits a bit in the crook of your arm. Maybe that will help.

JJ
 
Nah, thats just a pic I found with google.

I strum on the frets (my uke only has 12 :D), but I cant really hold it with my right arm and strum in the same time (standing). If I hold it that strong, that my left hand is free, I cant really move my hand anymore.
I mean. Playing works and I never had really problems, but its really annoying when you try a new strumming pattern and while chord-changing your ukulele is kind of falling.
 
Here's what my ukulele teacher told me... because I had the same problem holding the ukulele.... works for both sitting and standing
1. Back of the ukulele's body is flat on your stomach
2. Right fingers are braced firmly
3. The neck of the ukulele is resting gently on your left index finger
4. The neck should be in the same line as your shoulders
5. Be relaxed and comfortable


Strumming....
1. Use right index finger (down stroke and up stroke)
2. Always keep your right finger relaxed
3. Strum over the fretboard (where the body meets the neck)
 
I couldn't figure this out either... so I ended up putting on a strap button :D

I'm a pansy, though...
 
I couldn't figure this out either... so I ended up putting on a strap button :D

Yeah, that's how it starts. All nice an innocent. "Just a strap button".

Next, you start toying around with low-G. What harm could it be, right?

Then you start using a pick. Oh, it's felt at first. Nothing too bad. But then felt doesn't cut it, and you move on to harder stuff.

Later, you begin to wonder what a couple of extra strings would sound like. Of course, you'll need a longer scale and a larger body for that...

Next thing you know, you're looking in the mirror, and brother, you don't like what you see. There's a vacant, hollow, possibly mullet-framed face staring back at you.

You want to undo things. Turn back the clock to those innocent, carefree days when you didn't even have a strap.

But it's too late. The damage has been done.

You're a guitarist.

JJ
 
Yeah, that's how it starts. All nice an innocent. "Just a strap button".

Next, you start toying around with low-G. What harm could it be, right?

Then you start using a pick. Oh, it's felt at first. Nothing too bad. But then felt doesn't cut it, and you move on to harder stuff.

Later, you begin to wonder what a couple of extra strings would sound like. Of course, you'll need a longer scale and a larger body for that...

Next thing you know, you're looking in the mirror, and brother, you don't like what you see. There's a vacant, hollow, possibly mullet-framed face staring back at you.

You want to undo things. Turn back the clock to those innocent, carefree days when you didn't even have a strap.

But it's too late. The damage has been done.

You're a guitarist.

JJ

JJ are YOU A GUITARIST?????
 
I see from ur icon that your thumb is above the neck. (or is that even you!?)

If you're sitting down, put your right knee up, so as to hold the body
 
Your right forearm should gently press the ukulele against your chest. With all but the heaviest ukulele that should be sufficient to hold it up, even if you remove your left hand entirely.

Um... from the uke. Don't remove your left hand from your arm. That really screws up chording. And it's messy.
 
In sitting, I can hold the uke with no hands, with no effort.

What I do is prop the lower bout of the uke on my thigh. Then I use my forearm to oppose that contact and therefore trap the uke between my thigh and forearm...

Here's a hastily taken picture to illustrate:
IMG_0002-1.jpg


When standing, I prop the uke in the crook of my elbow (as someone else said to do). It's much easier to play sitting, for me, though.
 
Whenever I have a question as to proper form, I simply play standing up. If the uke falls on the floor, I know I was doing somthing wrong, which wicked sucks. Then I pick it back up and try again.
 
Oh and another thing, pressing the uke agains your body muffles the instrument. That forearm wedge that the uke books talk about is for suckers. If your sitting, try holding it like a cello. It may be wrong form, but it SOUNDS SOOooOOo right!
 
Greetings,
I just had a follow up question, I was wondering which way would be
the proper way to place the thumb while holding the neck...

Bruce Shimabukuro, thumb behind neck, about 2 minutes into the video, but where does the neck rest?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2074zneAfB0&feature=plcp

Aldrine seems to be more or less resting the neck between thumb and index finger:

http://ukuleleunderground.com/2011/12/uke-minutes-149-how-to-hold-your-ukulele/

I guess my question is, should the neck be resting on the base of my index finger or should it "float" like Bruce's video? Just curious...


Many Thanks!

Juan Carlos
 
I had trouble at the beginning too- I used a UkeLeash for everything. Turns out the geared tuners were weighing down the headstock. When I got a new uke with direct tuners, the neck felt light enough to be supported in the V of my thumb and index finger. This was also around the time I lost the UkeLeash.

Recently, though, I wanted the support of a UkeLeash, so I ended up buying two.
 
Thank you for the feedback, I honestly feel more comfortable holding the neck with the V of the thumb and index, but I was not sure if this was the correct placement... many thanks! JC
 
whilst the majority of the time i rest my uke between the V of the thumb and index finger when it comes to barring i find it quite hard to get my finger right, so i kinda slips my thumb down and puts prressure on the fretboard with my barring finger and i squeeze a bit more with my right arm against my chest, this takes a bit of practice but works for me, on saying all that i still use a ukeleash for my concert or tenor ukes
 
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