Newbie question: Distance between strings.

Being brand-new to learning the ukulele, one of my difficulties is currently that I tend to accidentally touch other strings when practicing chords. My hands and fingers are not unusually large or stubby, so it is probably just a matter of practicing and becoming more nimble.

I wonder, though, if the necks/fretboards of tenor ukuleles are wider than of concert models? The distance between the strings, that is. Or is this independent of the "type" (concert, tenor)?

Thanks, and apologies if this is one of those "duh!" questions.

The spacing between strings is usually referred to as the nut width; the wider the nut, usually the more space you'll have between strings. There is no fixed answer to this question; some builders use the same nut width on soprano, concert, and tenor, and some vary it. But it definitely is not a given that a tenor will have wider string spacing than a concert or a soprano.

With all that being said, the truth of the matter is in your first sentence. If you're a complete newbie, you're just getting used to how the ukulele feels. Give it some time and some practice, and it will feel more natural.

RichM said:

With all that being said, the truth of the matter is in your first sentence. If you're a complete newbie, you're just getting used to how the ukulele feels. Give it some time and some practice, and it will feel more natural.

Click to expand...

100% agreed.

Something you might try is experimenting with angling your hand. When I started, I tried to play with my arm straight under my left hand. Sometimes, that is right. But for a lot of chords, you will do much better if you turn the wrist one direction or the other so your hand is coming at the frets from an angle (does that make sense?). It gives your fingers more room to get the correct strings.

FairyGodmartyr said:

100% agreed.

Something you might try is experimenting with angling your hand. When I started, I tried to play with my arm straight under my left hand. Sometimes, that is right. But for a lot of chords, you will do much better if you turn the wrist one direction or the other so your hand is coming at the frets from an angle (does that make sense?). It gives your fingers more room to get the correct strings.

Click to expand...

This is what I've found - on certain chords, especially when I use my Soprano, I have to angle my wrist slightly one way or another, otherwise I tend to just catch another string and create a bit of a buzz or muted note.

On the other hand, when I play my concert, I find that I have to open my fingers out a little further to reach each individual string, which can produce just as much 'false' fretting of the strings.

It's all about practice, but I've actually found that I prefer the soprano, despite the smaller fretting space ........

I am teaching four different people to play the uke, and the one thing I notice is they don't bend their fingers enough. Instead of fretting the string with the tip of their finger, they lay their finger flat, therefore, touching other strings. Maybe that's the issue you are noticing? I don't have fat fingers, but don't have small ones either, and I can fret a "smaller than usual" soprano just fine without touching other strings. It just takes practice getting your fingers to bend that way. It's not natural, and you have to keep at it until it becomes natural. Plus, you will develop "muscle memory" in your fingers when making your chords. It's all just practice, practice, practice. It will all be worth it though. Keep at it, and good luck!

Dan

I have noticed, however, that on my tenor (Pono), I often can't reach the G string without flattening my finger(s) out somewhat. They simply won't reach it properly curved as much as I would like. When I watch youtube vids of other players, I do notice that they can make more of a U with their fingers on the G and C strings than I can, no matter how low on the neck I put my thumb. I don't have small hands or really short fingers....for you Operating Room types I wear a 71/2 glove.

I'm doing a lot of stretching exercises, ideally to get my fingers to come at the strings from the same angle as I like to see my piano students' fingers hit the keys.....

When I first started playing I would play too fast and my fingers would hit other strings. Play very slowly until your hands get used to making the chords. Eventually you will just hit the strings you intend to hit. By the way, that advice came from Jake Shimabukuro himself at a meet and greet after I saw him in concert. It's the best advice I ever got. Good luck.

Elbow?

<I have noticed, however, that on my tenor (Pono), I often can't reach the G string without flattening my finger(s) out somewhat. They simply won't reach it properly curved as much as I would like.>

Have you tried dropping your elbow? Sometimes the shoulder, too.

Number one advice, fingers should be curled and just the tip of the finger should touch the string, not the "pad" that you do everything else with. Keep the fingernails on the left hand short! The exception, of course, is where one finger needs to cover two strings. In fact, one good practice exercise is changing back and forth between the F chord and the Dm chord. All you should need to do is let the last joint of your third finger bend backwards to make the bridge for the Dm, and then stiffen it back straight for the F.

Number two, be prepared to angle your hand so it is about 30 degrees offset for some chords.