Changing scale

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pluck

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Many here have ukes of different scale length. How often do you switch them out? Do you play different scales in a single session or do you switch them around every couple of weeks?

Personally, my fingers still get kind of confused when I switch things around. Maybe switching scales is just another skill that I can get better at. Either I will get better or I'll need to decide which one I like best.
 
Concert & soprano scales are fairly close, so these are what I use.

(I do have a tenor but rarely take it out of its case as it is not a comfortable scale for me.)

N.B. I don't use straps, but if I did, the tenor might be more comfortable to play.
 
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it sounds to me like you think changing scales, as in choosing to play different size
ukes (Soprano, Concert, Tenor, Baritone) means making major changes in your
fingering of chord shapes.

if this is so, I have good news for you. As long as the uke you are playing is tuned
the same as the uke you want to play, the chord fingerings and names should be
identical,

Many Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukes are tuned to gCEA [I think I got that right],
reentrant in any case :) if you are playing one of those and are comfortable with
the chord names and shapes, they should be identical between and among them.

Most Baritone ukes are tuned DGBE, so, whereas the chord fingerings are familiar,
the chord names will be different from the names of the same shapes for ukes tuned
gCEA.

If I'm way off-base re: your thread, I apologize :)

keep uke'in',
 
I have two concerts, and one soprano.I seldom play the soprano, and one of the concerts is just the beach uke, but there isn't any noticible difference between them.
 
Right now I have 2 sopranos and 1 concert. I used to have a tenor. I've been switching back and forth between soprano and concert and I do OK but hitting the 7th fret with my pinky is a little dicey. I'm pretty sure that if I stuck to one scale it would be easier but deciding which one to stick to is not so easy.
 
I keep five ukes hanging on the wall next to my computer and rotate my way through them during the day. I don't play the soprano much, but since I got my baritone, Big Zebra, a couple of weeks ago, I include that often to keep myself confused on chord forms.:confused:

Music terminology can be confusing as it uses similar terms for different things. 'Scale Length' is the length of the strings but 'scales' are the notes that you play in different keys and in different styles. There are Diatonic scales with 12 notes, Pentatonic Scales with five notes, Blues Scales with (I think) six notes in them for each different key.

It's all very confusing for a noobie like me so I generally end up playing the Catatonic scale, 'cause its quieter. :smileybounce:
 
I switch between a Tenor 8-string and a concert a lot. just depends on what song. I can also change between guitar to concert.
The trick is............................................................ Practice. and muscle memory. in the beginning you will flub, but make the adjustment and usually you are good.
 
It's all very confusing for a noobie like me so I generally end up playing the Catatonic scale, 'cause its quieter.

Bwaa haa haa Jack, good one!
 
I relate to what you are saying as I have super soprano, concert, long neck concert, tenor and baritone. Because I mostly play tenor I find it harder going down in size. If I am forming barr chords below the 5th fret on a soprano things get cramped and messy sounding. But this is because I stick mostly to the larger sizes. If I have been playing tenor exclusively for a few days and grab a baritone it might take me a song or two to remember to stretch my fingers out a bit more.

As Bill1 says most of us here do it for fun, not for profit. So a little "adjustment period" is no big deal.
 
My first uke before I even knew about sizes was a soprano, but it was very uncomfortable for me. Then I learned about sizes, I went directly to tenor and own nothing else, but when I started playing bass uke, I found I could switch scales fairly easily, so I now I have from 21" to 24.5" scales.
 
pluck said:
Personally, my fingers still get kind of confused when I switch things around. Maybe switching scales is just another skill that I can get better at. Either I will get better or I'll need to decide which one I like best.
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I have a tenor and that is all I play. There is no rule that says you have to be comfortable with different scales. Pick the uke you are most comfortable with and stick with it.
 
I tend to play my tenor and concert in the same session, usually my guitars as well which are all rightly 25" scale lengths.

My Soprano's scale is a bit too short for my comfort though...the spacing and slackness of the strings seems to work better for me as a strummer than for fingerstyle.
 
I will quite regularly play all three scales in a single session (I don't have a baritone). I also have the different scales tuned differently. Tenors are tuned DGBE (reentrant), Concerts linear GCEA and sopranos reentrant GCEA though I also have one soprano tuned ADF#B. Much of the time if I want ADF#B I put a capo on fret 2.

By playing all three regularly, I get used to both the different scales and to the different tunings. The choice of which to play depends on the song as I try to match the song to a tuning where I think it sounds best.
 
I don't have much problem with switching scale lengths between soprano, concert, and tenor. However when I play baritone in addition to the different chord names for given shapes, I do have to be conscious that I have to reach further to hit the different parts on a lead run. I still love them all. I honestly don't have a favorite.
 
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