Hi, I started playing acoustic guitar in April (about 8 months ago) then started feeling elbow pain about 3 months in where the strumming arm rests on the guitar. I bought a new thinner acoustic hoping that would help…still no help so bought a smaller Taylor GS Mini. The pain has persisted so saw my doc - diagnosed as golfers elbow by my doc. I’m seeing a PT and doing daily exercises but still have pain. I’ve decided to take a break from the guitar for now but I'm worried that the pain may return once I start playing again. Would playing the uke hurt the elbow since it’s much smaller (the elbow doesn’t rest on the body)? I love the sound of the acoustic but I’m wondering if it would be worth switching to the ukulele? The sound is so different between the 2 and I don’t hear the uke in too many songs in the folk genre, my preferred genre. I appreciate the thoughts.
Worth trying the uke?
- Thread starter Emcconne
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Welcome to the forum, and yes it’s worth a try. You’ve got nothing to lose and the cost of entry to the ukulele world small compared to the cost of a guitar.
Beware, some people never go back to their guitars.
Beware, some people never go back to their guitars.
Stoneyrun
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If the pain is a result of repeated strumming motion the pivot point of your elbow may not change much from guitar to uke. Maybe you've tried posture/position playing changes to adjust away from the pain? Have you tried using a footrest? Sorry for your struggles and I hope you find comfort and an instrument that lets you enjoy it. If you haven't heard too many ukulele songs in the folk genre I suspect you haven't been looking for them.
What scale are you considering? How you hold a soprano is very different than a tenor or baritone. With strap or without? Ukulele strumming is mostly using the index finger and thumb. Picking is three fingers or four. So the ergonomics are somewhat different. Which may be beneficial to changing the parts of the arm and muscles you are using. Some players complain about the hard edge of the ukes digging into their forearm and cutting off circulation.
Yo might want to look at some beginner videos to see how they hold the ukuleles and what kind of motions they use to strum and pick.
I think it may be helpful to try ukulele. But the guitar player members may have more insight.
I hope it works out for you. Ukes are physically easier to play, And so much fun!
Yo might want to look at some beginner videos to see how they hold the ukuleles and what kind of motions they use to strum and pick.
I think it may be helpful to try ukulele. But the guitar player members may have more insight.
I hope it works out for you. Ukes are physically easier to play, And so much fun!
Graham Greenbag
Well-known member
For what little it can cost to try out the Uke (there are loads of cheap second hand instruments available that are good enough for starting on) you‘d almost be daft not to try. What size would end up suiting you best I don’t know but suggest that you start off with a Soprano and then see how you get on - each size has things for and against it. Music wise there’s lots of stuff out there and in practise the only limit is pretty much your imagination.
kypfer
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As a long-term acoustic guitar player who "adopted" the ukulele as a "second" instrument later in life I wonder how much of the OP's problems are due to posture rather than instrument size?
Sat down "comfortably" in the couch with my jumbo Antoria or 12-string, my right arm does indeed rest on the body of the instrument, but sat up "properly" in a chair with a strap on the instrument there's no such issues.
The other advantage of a "correct seating position" is the freeing up of the fretting hand/arm if I want to get away from the first position.
Inevitably, YMMV ... Good luck
Sat down "comfortably" in the couch with my jumbo Antoria or 12-string, my right arm does indeed rest on the body of the instrument, but sat up "properly" in a chair with a strap on the instrument there's no such issues.
The other advantage of a "correct seating position" is the freeing up of the fretting hand/arm if I want to get away from the first position.
Inevitably, YMMV ... Good luck
Tin Ear
Well-known member
Tough call. Ask your PT for his opinion if a different sized instrument such as a uke is any better for you.
The genre you like is folk - I'd think Baritone or Tenor would be most suited if you try it.
The genre you like is folk - I'd think Baritone or Tenor would be most suited if you try it.
The Ukulele Underground YouTube channel has a good tutorial on how to comfortably hold a ukulele. Most of your strumming action comes from your wrist, so elbow pain shouldn't be a big issue, especially if you are playing while sitting with the ukulele resting in your lap or on your leg.
Neil_O
Well-known member
OP did. Please talk to optometrist!
Neil_O
Well-known member
I don't think you should expect this (short scale) to help. Same problem here, and I find relief by playing a long scale lute like a guitar, with a strap, slung lower, standing up. For me, the bending elbow seems to cause some impingement, and my doctors agree. Good luck!
Doctors and PTs are good for addressing recovery in particular, but especially when considering starting the ukulele on the right foot, so to speak, it's worth consulting a professional ukulele player who's experienced with helping people avoid pain. Which we happen to have handy!
This actually came up in Monday's UU podcast. UU co-founder Aaron Nakamura (@anaka) did a 10-minute video a while back about how to hold an ukulele, and they guys were playfully asking, "Who needs to hear about holding an ukulele for TEN MINUTES???" but in fact, they regularly hear from people who've been playing the ukulele for years and even decades who report, "Wow, I can now play a bunch of chords I couldn't play before" and "I used to have problems with pain after a long practice session, but not anymore", etc. It makes a difference!
And I do think that even non-beginners would do well to at least check it out. We can all get better with a review of the foundation.
I'll add as an observation that we have many, many people who played guitar for years, if not decades, and are now playing ukulele full time, and guitar not at all. (We do also have a number of folks, including UU co-founder Aaron whom I mentioned above who play both about equally.) Many of these "I'm an ukulele player now" folks switched specifically for reasons of pain relief. Among those folks, slimline ukes are often especially appreciated, but in this as all things, your mileage may vary!
I'm blessed to not have ukulele as among my many sources of pain, so I'll leave the rest of any advice to folks who know better.
I'd really love to hear more about this, because I hear a LOT of folk music on the uke! The first question of course is, what do you mean by folk music? I was a kid in the 60s, so to me it was mostly folk-rock -- early stuff from Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, etc -- but I suspect that's not what you mean. But bluegrass, celtic, early music, you name it: all that stuff is amply represented in our members' repertoires.
One of the things I love about Ukulele Underground in particular is that even though it was started in Hawaii by three local Hawaiian fellas, they wanted to be crystal clear that the ukulele has a vast musical range, so their first song lesson was The Cure's "Love Song"!
Once I hear more about the kind of folk music you're looking for, I can give some better examples, but here's a simplified beginner instrumental version of Scarborough Fair...
When John Prine passed, one of our members hosted a contest for everyone to submit a recording of one of his songs, for the prize of her memorial painting of him. Here's FIVE PAGES of John Prine videos (along with a single handy-dandy YT playlist linked in the first post), some instrumental, some with singing and strumming, with all different skill levels and approaches...
forum.ukuleleunderground.com
But this does raise a question. Are you more inclined to instrumental, picking-ish approaches, more strumming and singing, or maybe some Travis-picking and singing? We've got people here doing all that and more!
Since I mentioned Bob, I'll end with this, which was posted here in the forum in February. Lovely little Travis-picking-inspired intro into a nice strum, then back to a more picked interlude, with some harmonica to boot!
Here's another early English folk tune (well, not THAT early -- first published in 1651 ), and an Irish folk classic that could be a nice first song if you're inclined, but I won't pile on any more until I have a better idea of what you're looking for. But believe me when I say that I think of folk as one of the most popular choices for ukulele, and will be glad to supply some more specific examples with a little direction from you.
Thanks so much for joining, and for introducing yourself! Best wishes for your recovery!
Cheers,
Tim
This actually came up in Monday's UU podcast. UU co-founder Aaron Nakamura (@anaka) did a 10-minute video a while back about how to hold an ukulele, and they guys were playfully asking, "Who needs to hear about holding an ukulele for TEN MINUTES???" but in fact, they regularly hear from people who've been playing the ukulele for years and even decades who report, "Wow, I can now play a bunch of chords I couldn't play before" and "I used to have problems with pain after a long practice session, but not anymore", etc. It makes a difference!
And I do think that even non-beginners would do well to at least check it out. We can all get better with a review of the foundation.
I'll add as an observation that we have many, many people who played guitar for years, if not decades, and are now playing ukulele full time, and guitar not at all. (We do also have a number of folks, including UU co-founder Aaron whom I mentioned above who play both about equally.) Many of these "I'm an ukulele player now" folks switched specifically for reasons of pain relief. Among those folks, slimline ukes are often especially appreciated, but in this as all things, your mileage may vary!
I'm blessed to not have ukulele as among my many sources of pain, so I'll leave the rest of any advice to folks who know better.
I'd really love to hear more about this, because I hear a LOT of folk music on the uke! The first question of course is, what do you mean by folk music? I was a kid in the 60s, so to me it was mostly folk-rock -- early stuff from Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, etc -- but I suspect that's not what you mean. But bluegrass, celtic, early music, you name it: all that stuff is amply represented in our members' repertoires.
One of the things I love about Ukulele Underground in particular is that even though it was started in Hawaii by three local Hawaiian fellas, they wanted to be crystal clear that the ukulele has a vast musical range, so their first song lesson was The Cure's "Love Song"!
Once I hear more about the kind of folk music you're looking for, I can give some better examples, but here's a simplified beginner instrumental version of Scarborough Fair...
When John Prine passed, one of our members hosted a contest for everyone to submit a recording of one of his songs, for the prize of her memorial painting of him. Here's FIVE PAGES of John Prine videos (along with a single handy-dandy YT playlist linked in the first post), some instrumental, some with singing and strumming, with all different skill levels and approaches...
John Prine song contest
Hi UU friends! I have a sketch/ drawing of a portrait of John Prine which I made a day after he passed away in 2020. I want to give it to someone who really likes his music and would like to have the portrait. So I thought I should start a little "contest" here, and I will send the portrait to...
forum.ukuleleunderground.com
But this does raise a question. Are you more inclined to instrumental, picking-ish approaches, more strumming and singing, or maybe some Travis-picking and singing? We've got people here doing all that and more!
Since I mentioned Bob, I'll end with this, which was posted here in the forum in February. Lovely little Travis-picking-inspired intro into a nice strum, then back to a more picked interlude, with some harmonica to boot!
Here's another early English folk tune (well, not THAT early -- first published in 1651
), and an Irish folk classic that could be a nice first song if you're inclined, but I won't pile on any more until I have a better idea of what you're looking for. But believe me when I say that I think of folk as one of the most popular choices for ukulele, and will be glad to supply some more specific examples with a little direction from you. Thanks so much for joining, and for introducing yourself! Best wishes for your recovery!
Cheers,
Tim
Mike $
Well-known member
It sounds like you have already talked yourself out of the uke since you like the sound of an acoustic so much and it sounds so different from a uke. I say, why waste your money? Do your PT and get back to the instrument you love already. Maybe you'll be interested in the uke in 20 or 30 years and you'll discover that anyone with a bit of talent can play whatever genre of music they want to on a uke, or any instrument for that matter.
