Katz-in-Boots
Well-known member
Another thread got me thinking more about muscle memory. I wrote that it’s how I learn best, by getting something ‘under my fingers’.
I’ve played quite a few instruments in my time, cello was probably my best instrument. With the orchestral strings, there are no frets or markers on your fingerboard. Your fingers learn where to go and how far apart to be. On cello in particular, the higher you go up the fingerboard, the more you rely on muscle memory telling you how far to go for each note.
Back to ukulele. Like just about everyone, the first uke I strummed was a soprano and I knew it was too small for my tastes. Hung out on UU for a while, then bought a tenor. Quickly decided it was too big for my hands and switched to concert. Then got the Ohta-San which again I decided was too big & hurt my hands.
My musings have led me down the road wondering whether my hands hurt because I was learning something new, and that if I’d persevered, would I find the larger scale comfortable. With the tenor, I was learning my first chords, including barre chords, so of course my hands were tense, so of course it set off pain. With the Ohta-San, I was trying finger picking for the first time, again I wonder if I kept at it I would’ve been less tense and therefore have less pain.
I know many people here switch between different size instruments a lot, and I don’t know how you can do it easily. Muscle memory tells me how far apart the strings and frets are, so another instrument is a problem. I even had trouble switching between my KoAloha & my Kanile’a concerts because the Kanile’a is just slightly wider across the nut and a longer scale.
So, I’m wondering if I am alone in this? Is everyone able to make the adjustments to play different ukes? Do you need to play that one instrument for a while to ‘map’ its fingerboard?
I’m getting a uke made for me (Ono), and wondering what scale to go with, so the musings are part of that process.
I’ve played quite a few instruments in my time, cello was probably my best instrument. With the orchestral strings, there are no frets or markers on your fingerboard. Your fingers learn where to go and how far apart to be. On cello in particular, the higher you go up the fingerboard, the more you rely on muscle memory telling you how far to go for each note.
Back to ukulele. Like just about everyone, the first uke I strummed was a soprano and I knew it was too small for my tastes. Hung out on UU for a while, then bought a tenor. Quickly decided it was too big for my hands and switched to concert. Then got the Ohta-San which again I decided was too big & hurt my hands.
My musings have led me down the road wondering whether my hands hurt because I was learning something new, and that if I’d persevered, would I find the larger scale comfortable. With the tenor, I was learning my first chords, including barre chords, so of course my hands were tense, so of course it set off pain. With the Ohta-San, I was trying finger picking for the first time, again I wonder if I kept at it I would’ve been less tense and therefore have less pain.
I know many people here switch between different size instruments a lot, and I don’t know how you can do it easily. Muscle memory tells me how far apart the strings and frets are, so another instrument is a problem. I even had trouble switching between my KoAloha & my Kanile’a concerts because the Kanile’a is just slightly wider across the nut and a longer scale.
So, I’m wondering if I am alone in this? Is everyone able to make the adjustments to play different ukes? Do you need to play that one instrument for a while to ‘map’ its fingerboard?
I’m getting a uke made for me (Ono), and wondering what scale to go with, so the musings are part of that process.