Keeping Soprano Dolphin steady while banging out mad riffs ?

LM in Kentucky

LM in Kentucky

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Hello UU'rs ! :shaka:

I just got my new Uke and love it. I had no idea how cool this instrument can be. A whole new world to discover ! :drool:

Is there a technique to keeping the mighty Dolphin steady while strumming and changing chords sort of fast? I searched but nothing came up. I'm ready to glue some velcro to it and my shirt :uhoh: Being so small, it's really hard to work on being 'clean' when the instrument is moving around. Am I missing something totally obvious?

I love this forum, thanks in advance for sharing your uke wisdom so freely :bowdown:

Regards,
LM in KY
 
Hi there LM,

I'm a ukulele (and UU) beginner, too, but I've noticed two products that might help.

1. A Uke Leash. When I got my ukulele, I quickly tried out making my own leash with a ribbon, and found it greatly helped me change chords. (My official Uke Leash is now on its way; I ordered it just yesterday.) Perhaps having the neck steady may also help you keep your uke in place.

2. Magic Fluke Grip Strips. Personally, these make me nervous. I don't want to "stick" anything to my beautiful new ukulele! But, perhaps they might help you out (I'm guessing it's a good alternative to matching sets of velcro! :) ). Regardless, I'd definitely check to see if you can find any folks who can vouch for the grip strips before you buy 'em.

Before you spring for any gizmos, though, I wonder if you can play with where you hold your uke, and how forcefully you hold it to you. I've been practicing sitting down with a concert ukulele, so find that I can rest it on my right thigh while playing. Not sure if that would work for a soprano... I've also read of some folks talking about lightly holding their ukuleles to get better sound out of them, which makes me wonder whether holding a uke more lightly may also help its stability.

Do let us know what you end up doing!

Cheers,
Veronica
 
Thank you very much for this great information, Veronica !

I know it is a "Me" issue and feel sort of dopey posting it. I am going to use your suggestion and make a strap with a nice heavy/boot-shoelace first. I have been playing guitar my whole life so I think some of the problem is being used to a certain amount of heft that is just not there with the diminutive Makala. With the strap and practice, Im sure all will be well. As an off-topic afterthought, Im still amazed at the tuning of the Uke. For me, it is the way I hear stuff in my head when I am composing music. Who would have thought !! ;)

Thanks again !
LM in KY :rock:

verbistheword said:
Hi there LM,

I'm a ukulele (and UU) beginner, too, but I've noticed two products that might help.

1. A Uke Leash. When I got my ukulele, I quickly tried out making my own leash with a ribbon, and found it greatly helped me change chords. (My official Uke Leash is now on its way; I ordered it just yesterday.) Perhaps having the neck steady may also help you keep your uke in place.

2. Magic Fluke Grip Strips. Personally, these make me nervous. I don't want to "stick" anything to my beautiful new ukulele! But, perhaps they might help you out (I'm guessing it's a good alternative to matching sets of velcro! :) ). Regardless, I'd definitely check to see if you can find any folks who can vouch for the grip strips before you buy 'em.

Before you spring for any gizmos, though, I wonder if you can play with where you hold your uke, and how forcefully you hold it to you. I've been practicing sitting down with a concert ukulele, so find that I can rest it on my right thigh while playing. Not sure if that would work for a soprano... I've also read of some folks talking about lightly holding their ukuleles to get better sound out of them, which makes me wonder whether holding a uke more lightly may also help its stability.

Do let us know what you end up doing!

Cheers,
Veronica
Click to expand...
 
Hey LM in Kentucky. I have 4 uke leashs and find them very helpful. I'm from Owensboro about 100 miles from you and was also a guitar all my life till I found the ukulele a little over a year ago.
 
But emoneedi

Hey Neighbor !

Thank you Mark ! I love Owensboro. They have about 100 festivals a year, it would be great if they added a Uke festival to their calendar.


Thanks for taking time to post ! :D

L'Ville Lem :music:

Markr1 said:
Hey LM in Kentucky. I have 4 uke leashs and find them very helpful. I'm from Owensboro about 100 miles from you and was also a guitar all my life till I found the ukulele a little over a year ago.
Click to expand...
 
Lots of other festivals here just no uke fests. That's to bad.
 
Lem,

No worries! UU is a very friendly forum from what I've seen—I don't think there are any dopey questions. Everyone was a beginner at some point. :)

That's really cool that uke matches up with the music in your head. You should post videos or tabs (or both) of the songs you write!

Cheers,
Veronica
 
Not a dopey question at all! We're all here to learn.

I have a Dolphin, too, and this morning I was getting a little carried away playing "Rocky Top" for my dog. I was sitting down, so it wasn't too bad, but I actually found that making sure I was keeping my left hand sort of relaxed helped to balance things. I think with such a diminutive (to use your word, which is perfect) instrument, a light touch helps. Not necessarily an easy task, especially if you're used to a guitar, and/or if you're a beginner.

That being said, I second Veronica's recommendation, as I'm also going to order a Uke Leash in my next batch of supplies. You know how crazy things can get when you're playing for a dog; I'm not taking any chances.

Welcome aboard!
Lily (LM in Switzerland)
 
LM in Kentucky said:
(...) make a strap with a nice heavy/boot-shoelace first. (...)
Click to expand...

That's what I have on my Dolphin. A shoelace tied around the waist over the soundhole with the other end tied around the headstock. I stared at the headstock hovering in the air without my hand supporting it for hours, such a miracle.
 
I'm new too and find that even when seated, the ukulele resting on my thigh, I move it around too much when I have to play a chord that takes more muscle or on that requires a unique position of the fingers, or even a big change in position from the previous chord. I'll be reading the replies trying pick up hints. To be honest, any kind of 'leash' or 'strap' would seem to be too restrictive, but having played guitar a little, I do seem to overpower the ukulele too often to play it cleanly.
 
I have a soprano Dolphin, awesome little thing!

My boyfriend picked up two small eyelet screws from the hardware store, .10 cents each, and put them on my Dolphin for me. Right about where strap pegs would go say, on a guitar. I am using a pretty vintage camera strap to hold the uke up. Regular guitar straps are too long for me.

I have a picture of me wearing it in my introduction thread.

Have fun!
 
I use full straps on my other ukuleles but on the dolphin I use a uke leash. It's so light, I just put the loop over my right arm and never notice it. When I used the leashes on my heavier ukes, I used the loop on my jeans. It will steady that neck for you.
 
I found that I cannot play without a strap. I made one myself for under a couple of dollars. First, your ukulele needs a strap button. If it does not have one, they are very easy to install and cheap to buy. Get yourself a length of nylon strapping and a plastic buckle. Make a slit in one end of the strapping and slip it over the button on your uke. The other end will go under the strings on the head of your uke and fasten it with the plastic buckle. You can adjust it to whatever length is comfortable for you. Easy, and it takes only a few minutes to install.
 
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