can soprano play all songs?

Choboy · Apr 22, 2009

so i favor soprano over all other ukes because of its awesome size!
sopranino is cool too.

but my uke has 12 frets. will i need more friends for certain songs?
specifically songs by jake shimabukuro like dragon and gently weeps.

and why do so many people have concerts? while im writing.... what are your favorite ukulele sizes?

josuegroundhog · Apr 22, 2009

I got a soprano first but very quickly found I wanted a few more frets. I went to concert and love it.

bbycrts · Apr 22, 2009

My main uke is a concert - I've had five sizes - sopranino, soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. I currently have a soprano for its portability and the fact that it fits in my desk drawer at work and a concert for everything else. I love the concert. My favorite of any size I've had.

mailman · Apr 22, 2009

Choboy said:
so i favor soprano over all other ukes because of its awesome size!
sopranino is cool too.

but my uke has 12 frets. will i need more friends for certain songs?
specifically songs by jake shimabukuro like dragon and gently weeps.

and why do so many people have concerts? while im writing.... what are your favorite ukulele sizes?

I know I'll need new friends for the crap I play.....

Ahnko Honu · Apr 22, 2009

Get a Super Soprano aka Concert neck Soprano, best of both worlds.

bornagainjeeper · Apr 22, 2009

I don't use frets above about the 7th almost ever...so the extra frets are not why i want a concert (a few weeks away!) The biggest thing is larger instruments have more sustain (assuming all the other factors like wood and shape are the same) Sustain being basically how long it will ring when you strum it...this is why sopranos are plinky when finger picked...which is not a bad think, very uke sounding...the concert just has a more "musical" voice to it...its also lower, and i feel easier to sing along with because it compliments the human voice better...IIIIII will have a sopranino tommarow, i own two sopranos and a baritone at the moment, and find myself playing my baritone most, though its basically just a guitar, so i look forward to having a nice, more uke sounding size like concert and eventually tenor

GX9901 · Apr 22, 2009

You do need more than 12 frets for certain songs, especially some of Jake Shimabukuro's arrangements. They can be played on a soprano, but some goes up to 16th fret so you'll want a soprano with at least that many frets to properly play Jake's tunes. I do find that they sound better on concert or larger ukes, probably due to the aforementioned sustain issue.

My favorite size is tenor but I like concerts a lot too. For me they feel about the same to play despite a two inch difference in scale length. For some reason I notice the scale length difference betwee soprano and concert more than I do between concert and tenor even though it's a two inch difference in each case.

*England* · Apr 23, 2009

whats the best tuning to have to play more songs, is high gcea too high for most songs?

hoosierhiver · Apr 23, 2009

Currently,concerts are my favorite. Still small but a little more room to play.

mailman · Apr 23, 2009

*England* said:
whats the best tuning to have to play more songs, is high gcea too high for most songs?

The difference between standard tuning (GCEA) and "low G" tuning (gCEA) is only one octave on one string. The remainder of the tuning is identical. One tuning is not "higher" than the other. The low G tuning offers a few more bass tones, and thus may sound mellower.

The vast majority of ukuleles in soprano, concert and tenor sizes are tuned GCEA. A minority are tuned gCEA for use on certain songs, based on player preference. Baritone ukes are completely different in tuning.

Low G tuning (gCEA) requires more than just dropping an octave on the G string. It requires a different, thicker G string to make it work.

MysticRatboy · Apr 23, 2009

IMHO an ukulele's best feature is its size.
If we start discussing about the musicality of the dif sizes, we will get to a point that we would want a guitar instead.

A soprano uke can play any song, just adapted for it.

Lanark · Apr 23, 2009

I'm pretty certain that most anything could be arranged to be played on a soprano.

I'm not always sure that I am the one who can play it.

HaileISela · Apr 23, 2009

bornagainjeeper said:
its also lower, and i feel easier to sing along with because it compliments the human voice better...

It's lower? How did you get to that conclusion?

Lanark · Apr 23, 2009

HaileISela said:
It's lower? How did you get to that conclusion?

I assumed that he meant that it had a deeper overall tone than a soprano. More mids with the larger size.

Autistic Lemon · Apr 26, 2009

I have a Concert Ukulele it's one of my favorite. I used an old Soprano for a while, but I needed and upgrade, and I haven't looked back.

haole · Apr 27, 2009

If you attempt most Jake or Aldrine songs, you'll be wishing you had more than 12 frets. I've discovered that even 15 isn't enough for me.

I like all of the sizes equally. Soprano for convenience, baritone for big, deep sound, and concert and tenor for a comfortable medium. A tenor or super-concert with lots of frets will have to be my next acquisition.

HoldinCoffee · Apr 27, 2009

Whilst playing and listening (more listening than playing though) to John King's The Classical Ukulele, I noticed he's playing a concert Fluke. In Fur Elise he hits the 19th fret even though the concert Fluke has but 15 frets. Not sure how he managed to pull that one off. I guess JK's just that damn good.

tukef · Apr 28, 2009

I have a soprano and concert. I play both equally but would probably pick the concert over the soprano in a favourite contest. I like that it has more frets and it is the perfect size so that I can sit with it resting on my lap really comfortably. All the songs I play I can play on both ukuleles so neither are limiting for me. x

can soprano play all songs?

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