The Ultimate Beginner

sheeshkebab

Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2012
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hi! I haven't even seen or held a uke before, but I want to learn how to play. I can't get over how lovely they sound. Have some minor (lol) music background as I played the piano in school and into college.

I have a few questions.

1) What size would suit an absolute beginner?
2) How much would I be looking at paying for a ukulele, in the UK?
3) Why am I so late to the game? :D

Any help, advice and ideas appreciated.
 
If you have very large hands you might want to avoid the soprano (though many people with very large hands do play soprano and well). Unless your hands are really tiny, much smaller than normal for an adult, you should be able to handle anything right up through baritone.

The second thing is to consider what attacted you to the uke, what is your playing style likely to be? If you're going to be strumming and singing then any size is appropriate, with concert probably being the all around easiest for a beginner to master (fingerings are neither too cramped nor too stretchy). If you think you're going to want to learn fingerstyle then a tenor is highly recommended for the extra frets.

While, as mentioned above, anyone with normal sized hands can learn to play a baritone easily enough as a beginner you might not want to make it your first instrument. The tuning is different (and usually linear instead of reentrant) so you're going to be at a bit of a handicap when it comes to playing with uke groups or online video instructions and so on.

John
 
Hi! Well, now... my husband bought me my first uke - he went into a good music shop where the salesman advised him to buy a concert size, (second size up) and not the very cheapest because of quality issues. This uke, a mahogany laminate, lasted me ages, because the intonation is good, and the tuners are good. I put top quality strings on it (Aquila New Nylgut) which optimises the sound, and have been very happy with it for a long time. It cost about £50. If you get a little cheapie soprano you'll be wanting to get a better one very quickly, I think. Go into a good music shop and talk to someone who knows about them and will thoroughly check them out for you, for quality. Kala, Makala and Tanglewood are good makes easily available in the UK. Why so late? I've no idea! Better late than never! I'm sure you'll soon be hooked, anyway! :)
 
Hi, I cant offer much in the way of advice(im new to this myself), but heres my tuppence worth.
1. size wise I got a soprano, seems ok to my average fingers;)
2. about £30 to "I need to rob a bank":p
3. its never to late to try something new buddy, im 55(keep that to yerself):eek:ld:

Apart from that, just have fun:cheers:
Sam
 
Hiya! First, I can welcome you to the group and the friendly folks here at UU!:D Second, I will second the post of oldplucker in that you're never too old to learn. The day I stop learning is the day I will die...anyhoo, I'm in my (ahem) fifties as well and just picked up the baritone uke as a very first musical instrument to play. I've never played anything before and I'm LOVIN it! So jam on in!:music:
 
I have a review on a setup sold by Amazon that I don't actually like (too cheap for a beginner imho--it goes on sale for about $40 every now and then) but I suggest alternatives in the review. It's the revew that begins "not bad"

I like a tenor, but surprisingly, even with big hands, a soprano can be easy for a beginner as the barre chords are simpler. I "restarted" my playing on a Dolphin and then got a nice Mainland mahogany uke and what helps is learning a bit, then finding out what you'd really like by reading and comparing listening samples. You can then find your "go-to" good uke and sometimes, they come up used here for good prices (for example, a perfect tenor Mainland cutaway with a pickup was listed, and that is such a great uke I can't stand it.)

Go check my review for "beginners" and see if it helps you at all. And of course, there is a wealth of help here--that's how I figured out that I wanted to start on a Dolphin and then use a Mainland for my regular uking. The setup I recommend in the review would start nearly anyone, but eventually you will want to buy a good uke from a vendor that does setup (fixes it so the frets are correct, the bridge, etc) and there are many recommended vendors here you can read about. I used Uke Republic and couldn't be happier, but Mim and Hawaiian Music Supply are also well-received and there are others.
 
Sought expert advice (other than here of course!) I went for a Kauai concert one in the end, felt the soprano uke was just a little too small for my hands.

It's got a slightly rounded back to it, gives off a much louder sound than I was expecting!
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom