playing with tiny hands

Any of you with tiny hands have tricks on playing better? When I say tiny hands I mean under 6" from wrist joint to end of middle finger.

I bought a beautiful Kala tenor because I like the deep, more guitar-sounding richness, but may trade it for a concert because I can finger better. My local shop guy is loaning me a Mainland concert to try out for a couple of weeks. It seems much better, but I'm having a hard time stretching for chords like Bb. I feel like I mute the strings rather than have them cleanly down to get a better tone. At least on the concert I'm not having to use pinky to reach the G string.

I'm am a real beginner, so I know that some of this is due to not being familiar with playing, but if anyone has ideas that would make this less frustrating, I'd appreciate it. I hate getting rid of that tenor though.

Please don't send that vid of the little Korean girl playing guitar. She's wonderful, but I think the poor kid's been locked in a closet doing nothing but practice since she was 2.

Thanks!

Keep the tenor and buy the concert if you like it, think training wheels. Not that there is anything wrong with sticking to the concert size if you like it better.

Yes practice will make everything easier............... eventually. If you are already attempting a Bb then you are zooming right through the beginner stage, good for you. There are also finger stretching exercises you can do that will help. They don't actually stretch out your fingers and make them longer. Sorry if I gave you some false hope there

When you own three of the four different size ukuleles you realize the spacing difference between the three isn't very much different at all. Wait a year to decide if you want to sell the tenor if you really like the sound. Nothing wrong with buying a smaller ukulele as well though.

The Bb chord is one of the more difficult chords to play. Just hang in there and keep trying. You can fret the EA strings with your pointer finger on the first fret. Just hold those two and practice practice practice. Then while holding the E&A pointer finger first fret, with your middle finger hold down the C string second fret, then practice practice practice. Next with your ring finger fret the G string at the 3rd fret. Then did I mention practice? Practice practice practice. Do this incrementally until all the strings ring clear. As I'm sure you are finding out it isn't as easy as it looks to play the ukulele. Relax and enjoy and be patient it takes time.

My hands are just under 6" measured as you described (which I never thought of doing before but it's a great way to provide perspective!) and I find this a constant challenge. I also find those vids of the North Korean kids crazy-making when people post them in response to any of my small-hands posts - it's not a fair comparison, as I'm not a five-year-old child in a single-party state

My first bit of advice to you is: get a strap. I mean a real strap, with a strap button installed on the end of the uke, not a leash or a thong. I'm not a beginner and have been playing for 6 years, but as I find out every time I'm considering a new uke (which is inevitably strap-less) my playing ability declines by at least 50% when I have to worry about holding the uke. So just get that over with, first and foremost.

People will say that your hands will stretch as you get used to barre chords. This may be true for some, but to generalize, I think the further north of a certain age you may be, the less likely that it will be significant. (If you're young and still growing, feel free to disregard this opinion!) When I started playing, I couldn't form a Bb on a tenor. 6 years later, I still can't. I made the mistake last year of buying a uke right in between concert and tenor size, hoping this would happen and - it didn't, and it led to hand pain, and now I'm in the process of re-homing that uke.

After some years of experimenting, here's what I know with certainty about my small-hands situation: the truth is, I am most comfortable playing a soprano - there's nothing I can't do on one. But I don't care for the plinky tone as one plays higher up the neck, which I do often. So I've settled on concert-necked sopranos, AKA super sopranos or longneck sopranos, as my perfect uke. It's been a long and somewhat expensive process in getting there, but I think for the type of playing I do this is the happy medium. There are still a few stretches I can't do on a concert neck, so I do keep a soprano on hand to play those songs (hey, built-in justification for owning multiple ukes!).

Hope that helps!

Janeray,

You and I may be in the same place then. I'm also north of whatever, so these fingers are done growing and I already get some finger pain (why am I doing this then. Because).
Anyway, got a uke leash and yes, I do find myself wiggling all over with it. I don't know so, does drilling in one of those strap buttons affect sound quality? I guess not since they're on so many guitars. I got a Mainland concert that came with a wound low G (it was someone's consignment uke and I like the low sound).
Have you ever heard of a soprano necked concert or tenor? I like the deeper tone that my particular concert or a tenor gives. From what I understand, part of it is just that the larger body gives a deeper tone. I'm just not partial to the high-pitched soprano.

I've thought about switching to one to learn and then seeing if I could play the concert. Is your super soprano spaced on the fretboard like a soprano or a concert? Looking at the fretboards, I can see and feel a huge difference in the spacing between frets, but I didn't really look at the soprano necks. The guys at my local shop have been really nice about letting me test drive a couple of ukes. My "goal" is Spanish styling, and it sounds so much better with a deeper tone the the larger ukes seem to give. Ever strung a low G on your soprano (it may sound jarring, I don't know).

Since it seems like you've been through a bunch of ukes, I'm appreciating your insight.

captain-janeway said:

Janeray,
does drilling in one of those strap buttons affect sound quality?

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Not at all. And while some folks will tell you it will affect resale value, in my experience it hasn't. Every uke I've re-homed, except for a custom, has had a strap button and has sold for more than I paid for it.

captain-janeway said:

Have you ever heard of a soprano necked concert or tenor? I like the deeper tone that my particular concert or a tenor gives. From what I understand, part of it is just that the larger body gives a deeper tone. I'm just not partial to the high-pitched soprano.

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I think there was a thread about concert-necked tenors recently - not sure if soprano necked ones exist. Either way, I got the impression that they're pretty hard to come by, and usually customs.

I know what you mean about the tenor sound - I really like the fullness of it too. But I do play low G on my Koaloha super soprano and I think it sounds fantastic! I've also played several concerts strung low G over the years and been pleased with the sound. Regular sopranos, not so much

Another tip for getting that fuller sound: pineapple bodies. The brands I favor only make sopranos, but some manufacturers make concert pineapples. If you find yourself getting comfortable on that concert scale neck, then you may want to look into those.

captain-janeway said:

I've thought about switching to one to learn and then seeing if I could play the concert. Is your super soprano spaced on the fretboard like a soprano or a concert?

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Both the super-soprano in my possession (Koaloha) and the incoming one (Kamaka) have concert necks, so the spacing is identical to each respective brand's concert ukes. An added bonus though is that each join the body at the 14th fret, rather than the more typical 12th fret - because playing that high up the neck even with little hands can be uncomfortable.

captain-janeway said:

Ever strung a low G on your soprano (it may sound jarring, I don't know).

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Yeah, and aside from the Koaloha I mentioned above, it sounded absolutely dreadful!

captain-janeway said:

Since it seems like you've been through a bunch of ukes, I'm appreciating your insight.

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Glad to be of help. Compared to many in these parts I'm a rank amateur when it comes to going through ukes - I've never owned more than 4 at any given time, and have only sold six over the years that didn't work out. That's about to become seven though, so you can see - there have been more misses than hits for me.

janeray1940 wrote:

People will say that your hands will stretch as you get used to barre chords. This may be true for some, but to generalize, I think the further north of a certain age you may be, the less likely that it will be significant.

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Well, I'm not sure what your "certain age" is, or your latitude, but at 65+ and 49N I've stretched both hands to cope with longer-size woodwind instruments in recent years, despite the arthritis in my left hand complaining at first, it's now got used to it and has given up moaning, at least for a while

My hand measurement doesn't compare with yours, at about 8" wrist to tip, so I can't give finite expectations for span capability on a fretboard, but I can testify that, even at a fairly high latitude (age-wise) it is possible to extend one's span by an amount

Inevitably, YMMV and, as my doctor told me, "if it hurts too much, don't do it!"

kypfer said:

I can testify that, even at a fairly high latitude (age-wise) it is possible to extend one's span by an amount

Inevitably, YMMV and, as my doctor told me, "if it hurts too much, don't do it!"

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Very true, I'm just saying don't expect miracles. I've extended my span from soprano to concert (five frets in first position) and that actually happened pretty quickly... then came to a screeching halt. For me, it's a good lesson in accepting what I have and what I can do... even though I still get tenor envy from time to time!

Further to a couple of points ...

I'll second the comments about a "proper" strap. I do notice the extra strain when trying out an instrument that I'm having to struggle with for fear of dropping it. A strap leaves both my hands free to play the silly thing, not try to save it from crashing to the floor !

A pineapple soprano has significantly more low-frequency response than a "conventional" bodied soprano (at least my Mahalo does). Transferring the same set of strings from one instrument to the other (in this instance a set of Aquila 5th's) gave far better results from the low G string on the pineapple. Just for reference the "other economy-priced body" absolutely shines with the re-entrant Aquilas that I'd removed from the pineapple, so there's nothing unduly wrong with that instrument!

I'm curious then--why would you use the super soprano as opposed to a concert if they have the same neck? Wouldn't you just go with the concert? Just for fun I checked the website for your uke. It seems they have a uke with a tenor neck on a soprano body. Is it just because some people have huge hands, or does the fretboard size affect sound? I would think it would just be the body size.

Would you buy an inexpensive soprano (I'm talking dirt cheap) just to get to learn chord switching better? I would call it training wheels. I do realize it will probably sound like crap, but it is just to learn the feel better. I'm using Uncle Rod's bootcamp to start out with just to get the switching better before I really play anything. I've also been doing fingerpicking exercises and running scales.

From everything I'm reading from you, it seems concert may be the best option as something to play that will give me the sound I want. As much as I love that tenor sound, I'm just getting frustrated with these stretches that are leaving my hand in pain the next morning. Thanks for saying you couldn't adjust. It will make it easier to get trade out the concert and tenor.

I will take a look at the pineapples as well to check the sound, as well as get the strap button.

Thank you for your great input.

My left hand measures 6 1/2", so my hands are a bit bigger. (X2 on wrist to end of middle finger as a good sizing tool.)

I started on a concert, but am almost exclusively soprano now. I could not play a soprano when I started 18 months ago. If you are not doing Uncle Rod's Bootcamp chord sheets every day, you may want to try that for a month or two - it really helped with my arthritis in my left hand and I can extend my fingers so much better than before. It takes about 15 minutes to go through all five sheets with the 4 strum, three strum, two strum, one strum for each sheet method. I know I am ready to play regular songs when my hand starts to feel warm and loose, if that makes sense.

My Opio has a wider lower bout, so it has a wonderful tone. It has strap buttons, as does my OXK, and they are the ones I play all the time. The OXK is a great "training wheels" soprano.

I had a hard time with the E chord when I first started playing. I kept trying and it drove me nuts. This was on a soprano. Then I quit trying to play that chord. I was intentionally avoiding it. Eventually, it was required for a specific song, so when I went to try it again, I was surprisingly able to play it with ease. It's like the muscles in my hands became more limber as I was playing other stuff. When I got a larger uke, I had an issue with the E chord again, but I eased into it again. Just like the first time.

captain-janeway said:

Janeray,

Have you ever heard of a soprano necked concert or tenor? I like the deeper tone that my particular concert or a tenor gives. From what I understand, part of it is just that the larger body gives a deeper tone. I'm just not partial to the high-pitched soprano.

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The Ohana Vita has a concert-size body with a soprano (12-fret) neck. It's a lot of fun to play and really projects. Plus, it looks awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu_bE7g2wqM

Couldn't resist.

I don't have tiny hands, but they're not huge (7.5" wrist to fingertip), and I found that going back and forth between sizes helped me sort out reach issues early on. I will second what everyone else says - get a strap. There are several high end manufacturers that put a strap button on as default - My Clara came with one and I remember something about Mya Moe making it a standard on their ukes.

Regarding rich tones - definitely consider a pineapple. it is a little different sound and makes a bigger sound for a small uke. My Clara (concert pineapple) is a huge sound when strung with low G warm Oasis strings.

I had the same small hand problem and I also started with a tenor. I made a huge mistake assuming a concert would solve some of the difficult stretches. It did not! In fact, it's more difficult when the height of the frets are smaller. A tenor is still easier and more comfortable. Now I am back looking for a good tenor size.

captain-janeway said:

I'm curious then--why would you use the super soprano as opposed to a concert if they have the same neck? Wouldn't you just go with the concert? Just for fun I checked the website for your uke. It seems they have a uke with a tenor neck on a soprano body. Is it just because some people have huge hands, or does the fretboard size affect sound? I would think it would just be the body size.

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Besides having small hands I'm a pretty small person all around. I actually find smaller ukes just all-around easier to play. I do play a concert Kamaka (I switch it back and forth between low G and reentrant and it sounds equally good either way) but experience has taught me that for me, the super soprano is the best of all worlds.

I've seen a few tenor-neck sopranos - I think on the lower end Ohana makes one and it actually is pretty nice sounding. I think these are aimed at the larger-handed people who want a more classic soprano sound but the playability of the bigger neck. The fretboard doesn't affect sound that I know of, but the scale length does - and to me, the longer the better as you'll get more volume and sustain. Some people like that (me), some people don't.

captain-janeway said:

Would you buy an inexpensive soprano (I'm talking dirt cheap) just to get to learn chord switching better? I would call it training wheels. I do realize it will probably sound like crap, but it is just to learn the feel better. I'm using Uncle Rod's bootcamp to start out with just to get the switching better before I really play anything. I've also been doing fingerpicking exercises and running scales.

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I'll be honest here - in general I would steer clear of dirt-cheap ukes. Some will disagree with me and call me a snob - so be it! But with very few exceptions, I find the lower end ukes very hard to play. The solid wood Ohanas would be worth checking out, as are the Mexican made Martins and probably a few others, but we're still talking in the $300 range or so which in the uke world isn't dirt cheap.

captain-janeway said:

From everything I'm reading from you, it seems concert may be the best option as something to play that will give me the sound I want. As much as I love that tenor sound, I'm just getting frustrated with these stretches that are leaving my hand in pain the next morning. Thanks for saying you couldn't adjust. It will make it easier to get trade out the concert and tenor.

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I think a concert is a great place for you to start - while it still sounds like a uke, it will have much less of that plinky tone characteristic of sopranos. As for the hand pain - I really have to say, listen to your body. I actually had a pretty bad sprain a couple years back trying to play a tenor, and while I don't seem to have any lasting problems from it I had a few terrifying days when I thought I wouldn't be able to play at all!

And - you're welcome, I'm happy to help if I can.

I don't know the length of my hands, but my span on piano is an octave plus a second, so think middle C to the next C and then squeaking in to get a D. Or, to say it easier, roughly nine white keys on a piano.

I started on tenor and then realized it was too big. I now play concert and love it. I can get up and down the neck easier, and weird chord shapes are easier, and when reaching with the pinky for special notes, it is much more doable.

I agree that a strap makes quite a difference.

I think that poor little Korean girl had some bones, or tendons removed for her to be able to do that.

I also have small hands, 7 1/4 from wrist to middle finger tip. I started with a baritone and can play most chords. I purchased my smaller dependents for the different sounds. Finger stretching exercises and cod liver oil and ibuprofen have made a BIG difference in my flexibility. Also keyboard exercises (Aldrine shows several on this site) are a great help. This regimen has helped my arthritic hands and my trigger finger, left hand middle finger. Hope this helps you. Good luck, and as always, practice, practice and practice.