fingerpicking - done over the sound hole and not closer to the neck?

I got a new uke today and have a question about fingerpicking. (I posted pics of my new pono MS but the thread seems to have gone missing). I bought my first uke about 10 days ago and have been strumming and picking above the sound hole - closer to where the neck meets the body, as that's where it sounds best. My new (soprano) uke has frets that meet the sound hole, the old uke only has 12 frets and they pretty much stop at the body.

At any rate, on the Pono strumming over the fretboard is fine, but picking doesn't work out so well as the action is low and there isn't enough depth for my fingers. I've looked at some vids on YouTube and most fingerstyle uke I saw was played with the picking hand over the sound hole. I tried this it doesn't sound as nice, and makes holding the uke harder for me if I'm standing up (I know I can get a strap, likely I just won't stand up!)

How do others fingerpick, with the picking hand over the sound hole? Thanks!

Yup, I strum over the 12th fret (more or less) but fingerpick over the soundhole (more or less).

Isn't that pretty much how everybody does it?

Seriously, I'm another soundhole (more or less) picker.
John

Thanks for the replies, the answer does seem obvious, I just can't seem to get over how much better and louder it sounds when I play over the neck.

I guess I strum at the 12th, and pick at the end of the tongue.. i dont really move my arm just arch my wrist. But dont let anyone tell u how to play its ur style to find

You can pick even further down towards the bridge, for a different tone. Whatever suits what you are playing.

Done wherever you feel comfortable. The sound will be loudest around the middle of the sting - the 12th fret. But it depends on the design of the uke, too, and whether you strum, pick or finger pick.

Where you strum and where you pick depends on the tone you want to get. If you strum or pick around the end of the fingerboard, you will get a mellower, more hollow-sounding tone than if you pick over the sound hole. If you move further up, towards the saddle, the tone will get progressively more bite and become slightly harsher.

For these reasons you will see more experienced players changing picking/strumming positions.

I do what Ken just said..

I change the angle of my wrist to finger pick, so it does move to around the fretboard end of the soundboard, but if I want a punchier sound I move my fingers closer to the bridge, same as if I want to strum percussively, I utilise the bridge area.
I say do what feels comfortable and natural to you, play around a bit, it probably just takes some getting used to to play above the fretboard with low action, I do it on banjo sometimes and the action on that is 3mm tops at 22nd fret!

Ken Middleton said:

For these reasons you will see more experienced players changing picking/strumming positions.

Click to expand...

From my raw beginner's perspective, this was one of the things that threw me initially off. I had no experience with string instruments, and when watching videos, players strummed in so many different places that I didn't know where I should "start".

Books mention "where the neck meets the body", but it was unclear to me if that meant at the edge of the body or where the neck ends (directly at the sound hole). When I saw "around the 12th fret", that made things much easier. I realize now (after a week, so still brand-new) that there is no hard rule, but the guidance certainly helped.

What Ken said........

It all has to do with harmonics and nodes. Check this out:

http://physics.csustan.edu/Roger/PhysicsofGuitarStrings.pdf