Never played one before - Now I need to perform at a wedding!

Calling all people brandishing a ukelele who may be able to help.

My wife brother is getting married on a beach in a couple of months and they have just asked me to perform the classic somewhere over the rainbow - Iz version.

Now Im an average guitarist but a complete novice ukelele player in fact I havent ever touched one before.

Now i need to buy a nice one that will sound good on the day. I know about the lower g higher g arguments, i know that wood is important.

Really , I need someone to give me some advice! HELP!

Best thing to do would be go to a shop and try some out. So you can at least get a feel for what size you would like to get. Coming from a guitar you would probably want a Tenor size, but that is just a general staement. There is a list of shops in the US in this thread.

How much $$$ are you looking to spend?

A great beginner ukulele is the Kala Spruce. I'd choose Tenor if I were you, more space for your fingers. It's probably my favorite price/performance uke out there under $300, though I haven't got the extensive... cough UAS cough... experience with other ukes that some folks here have. Your best bet is to contact Music Guy Mike on his ebay store and ask him which of his models will suit you the best. Idk if he still sells Kala, but like I said, I'm partial to that one.

I would second the tenor recommendation, since you are coming from the guitar. In addition, I would go with a low G, since that is what Iz sang the song with, and its also easier for a guitar player to pick it up. My high G soprano and concert drove my guitar playing son crazy (he kept running out of low notes when he tried to pick) , but he has no trouble playing the low G tenor.

Here's a decent (ignore the excess reverb) tutorial of it the way Iz played it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAGOWxtxXfI

Nah,,,.. go with a laminated koa Mitchell MU-100 Concert. You can get them at Guitar Center for $179.00. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell-MU100-Koa-Concert-Ukulele-103838611-i1171409.gc I generally play a g high G-String tenor, but I have the MU-100 strung with a low g. I believe IZ's version of the song is with a low g. And he uses a concert or a soprano size. Played the same song at a wedding last spring. It went over great and the low g will give you that IZ vibe for this particular song. That being said, I prefer a high g tenor as my "go to" uke.... good luck at the wedding... e.lo..

I didn't have any substantial problems going from guitar to a high g soprano ukulele. I practiced on my guitar for about 2 weeks before I got the uke by capoing it up 5 & ignoring the 5th & 6th strings. Admittedly that's more like a low G than a high, but it wasn't a big switch. the first position chords all transfer from guitar to uke quite nicely--a D shape on a guitar becomes a G on a uke, a Bb becomes an E, a C becomes an F but without the C note on the 5th string since there is no 5th string, etc...

I think that it's the smaller ukes that most non-uke players think of when they hear ukuleles mentioned--it might appear more "authentic." Plus IZ plays a smaller one in the song, so I think that's the way to go, but that's just my opinion.

jehicks87 said:

A great beginner ukulele is the Kala Spruce. I'd choose Tenor if I were you, more space for your fingers. It's probably my favorite price/performance uke out there under $300, though I haven't got the extensive... cough UAS cough... experience with other ukes that some folks here have. Your best bet is to contact Music Guy Mike on his ebay store and ask him which of his models will suit you the best. Idk if he still sells Kala, but like I said, I'm partial to that one.

Click to expand...

I just bought my uke from musicguymik about a month ago and yes, he still sells the kala brand through his ebay store. he is really super nice too, very willing to help you pick out a good instrument, whether by email (same-day or next-day reply to my questions) or phone (i used both...haha).

good luck!! there's a good tutorial here on the tabs/chords section of the forum that i used to help you get a feel for the chord changes and everything.

-sarah

Thanks Guys!

I Live in London, England so hence my late reply.

All of this is really useful stuff, I played a soprano yesterday and I think it was a touch too small for me so Tenor may be the way.

Ukulele isnt really a big thing over here - it's not taken seriously....."George Formby" played one in a kind of comedy act years and years ago and so people associate the Ukelele with his (in my opinion unfunny) wartime songs like "when im cleaning windows". It gets some attention with some of the cool folk stuff and a little bit of reggae/hawaiin but most people dont even consider it.

Thans for the lower G/Iz tip - I'll start with that stringing as Im trying to directly emulate that version for the wedding and then see how I go!

Right! - where the chord section at?!

Brit, yeah start with your low g for that song. You can always switch that string out with a high g string later on. The uke won't know the difference. Again, good luck with your IZ song...e.lo..