Is the Tenor size the new "standard"?

I hope this isn't an old topic. I can't believe it hasn't been discussed before. But I couldn't find anything with the search function.

I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but whenever I go to the many ukulele dealers here in California (and we have a lot), the most numerous size you'll find hanging from the walls is the tenor. After that, you'll find concerts. Sopranos and baritones are getting hard to find.

As I understood it, the soprano was the standard. But many of today's popular performers (and I should probably add "younger") are appearing with tenors. Has that changed the concept of what many new ukers think of as the standard size?

This isn't meant to be a discussion of "what's best" (so don't turn it into one). I'd like it to be a thoughtful discussion of how the uke and its image is evolving.

It may also be an interesting discussion of future ukulele trends. Shop owners have told me that prospective baritone players have instead been going to guitaleles which are tenor-sized. Production offerings of baritone ukuleles are being trimmed. (Maybe we should blame Yamaha, Daniel Ho and KoAloha? ) Might even guitaleles become a full-member of the ukulele family between the tenor and the baritone?

I think we're pretty close to considering Tenor the new standard. I have all the sizes but Baritone, and unless I need the short scale or brighter tone of a Soprano, my daily player is my Tenor.

Aloha GVlog,
Have you ever taught of the soprano's being sold out???

Yes. I would think that the more current ukulele music is better suited for a tenor while more of the older 20's - 40's ukulele music is better suited to a soprano.

I think younger players are influenced more by Jake and Aldrine and their choice will be a tenor.

This is not that much different than the solid body electric guitar supplanting the hollow body electric guitar in the 60's by younger players.

John

mm stan said:

Have you ever taught of the soprano's being sold out???

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Yes, but the folks at the shops actually told me that buyers want tenors and concerts, not sopranos or baris. One retailer told me it would be more profitable for them to just stock those first two sizes, but their dealerhsip arrangement requires them to carry all sizes.

A shopowner implied that there is a generational divide. The young players want mostly tenors.

yah I don't go for tenors myself ... been playing soprano most all the time but am getting a new concert as its on its way to me. I never play my tenor. I don't play gigs so I don't see the advantage of a tenor for me. Since I play mostly soprano, the concert is like a super easy uke to play and yeah the tenor neck is soooo easy but the uke is bigger too. I have a soprano with a tenor neck and don't play it that much even though its super easy to play and super great sounding. I like the smaller ukes but I am not a performer.

GVlog said:

A shopowner implied that there is a generational divide. The young players want mostly tenors.

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Well, with baris, I think the consensus is that a lot of people feel they're too much like a guitar, so if that's the sound you want, you might as well get a guitar instead.

Sopranos are too Tiny Tim and "kitsch" to some.

Tenor is what Jake plays, and it's what a lot of rocker types are using. Smaller than a guitar, but big enough to be taken seriously. At least that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it.*

*Said by someone who is now up to five tenors but has never even played a concert, soprano or bari.

I think most people regardless of style will find it a little easier chord a concert or tenor fret board compared to a soprano fret board. Also, I agree most folks (though not all of course) who I met who play sopranos are influenced by an older "20's - 40's" ukulele music.
Now, as amazing as they are I don't even listen to Uke soloists like Jake and Aldrine, and they ARE amazing musicians I must add. I'm simply a contemporary songwriter who's voice works well with a six string tenor uke. Plus most of the songs I sing are sad ones. From my perspective, I can get a little more depth and range from a tenor as opposed to the soprano.

In my own personal battle I'm also tired of folks seeing the ukulele as a distinctly happy instrument. That image is hard to fight w/ an instrument as comically small and sonically high pitched as a soprano ukulele. The ukulele, baritone, tenor, concert or soprano, will always be BEAUTIFUL and WARM but it doesn't have to be happy. They are capable of so much more. When I'm playing bills with a bunch of guitar players, a tenor ukulele helps in you getting taken a bit more seriously.

Not sure if anyone thinks anywhere close to me on why they may prefer tenors. They simply work for what I want to do as a performer. Basically, Tenors work for my mix of indie pop/americana w/ a Skip James meets Son House sensibility. Sorry to rant,
Ryan
http://www.YouTube.com/user/ryansuzukamusic
Download a free album (it says "name your price" and you can just input "$0"):
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I like all of the three different sizes I own. I started on the soprano when I was a little kid and have at long last found myself another soprano (my original is on the other side of the country and is no longer capable of playing even remotely in tune). I've never had particularly flexible hands, despite the fact that I play several million musical instruments, and I appreciate the less roomy fretboards of the soprano and concert. However, I like the tenor too; it just hurts a bit more when I'm all arthritis-y. Who cares what's trendy and what's not? Play what you want to play.

(I keep playing my new soprano when I should be marking papers. Bad Kem.)

I have every size but a tenor. Oh well.

I'm still young... But I have no obvious preference to a size - I just like all of em -

But it's kinda sad that the local shops here only have dodgy cheap brands.
I haven't even found a Dolphin :O

i've got a Concert right now, but I'll tell you, although my hands are SMALL, I like the Tenor. Small enough that I can hope to be like Guitar George, who knows all the chords, large enough for my fingers to have room.

I can only speak for experiences in my area. In UK some shops don't even stock tenors you have to order them in because people mainly buy soprano and concerts. One shop said that he had sold two tenors in the past five years. Where I am sopranos and concerts definetly out sell tenors, which is a shame because tenor is my favorite size.

Anything larger than a soprano is cheating. When I pick up a concert it feels more like a guitar, it feels way too big.
IMHO

I agree with Pete. When I read these forums and watch youtube and the well known uke players, I find tenors seem to be quite a deal more popular. For me it's soprano first, concert a distant second and I have 2 tenors but hardly touch them. I prefer the traditional sound and body size of the soprano ukes.

I own both, and my experience is that the tenor gives a vey nice guitary sound, whereas with a soprano, you can really "strum it up". It is sad that quite a few replies express discomfort as to how others see them with a soprano..... I am always pleased when I play my soprano with a guitar player, who remarks how the uke can hold its own accoustically, and the instruments together compliment the session as well. Even people who see the soprano uke for the first time are pleasantly surprised.

I have to honestly say that i was influenced by Jake to buy a tenor but even before knowing about Jake Shimabukuro's ukulele talents, i felt the soprano was too small for me whenever i played.

Never tried a tenor before until yesterday. Was at a local music shop yesterday that hat I didn't know existed (looking for strings) and they had a kala spalted maple tenor. I picked it up and started playing and wow, now I'm lusting after a tenor bigtime. I'm keeping my eye on the UU marketplace.

itsme said:

Sopranos are too Tiny Tim and "kitsch" to some.

Tenor is what Jake plays, and it's what a lot of rocker types are using. Smaller than a guitar, but big enough to be taken seriously. At least that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it.

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I imagine that there are folks who share those same lines of thought.

I encountered a customer who was returning a soprano. He had bought it for his son who wanted an ukulele. His son however said it was "too small and the wrong size". The father said to me, "Growing up, this is the size I expected all ukuleles to be!"

Pukulele Pete said:

Anything larger than a soprano is cheating. When I pick up a concert it feels more like a guitar, it feels way too big.
IMHO

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I could cure that in about 1 second by letting your hold my dreadnaught guitar.