kitsunegarcia
Well-known member
I compiled some interesting things to check here if you feel like you have hands too small to play ukulele. This is by no means gospel, just suggestion from another small-handed player. I might actually have the smallest adult hands per body height on this board unless someone pipes up and says differently. The last time I met a woman with the same size hands as me she was 4'8" several inches shorter than me at 5'2". I wear children's medium gloves.
A lot of this data comes from guitar sources. I can't vouch for 100% accuracy as I just copy and pasted.
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Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 250+ 664mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 230 to 250 656mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 210 to 230 650mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 190 to 210 640mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 170 to 190 630mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of below 170 615mm scale length
Comes from http://www.wilsonburnhamguitars.net/2013/03/the-guitars-scale-length-your-hand-size.html
They suggest taking the thumb to pinky span measurement to see what size scale of guitar might feel comfy for you. Detailed directions on the link above. P.S. if you can't get your hand to lay completely flat you can gently press it down as long as it is not painful. Your hand span may be short due to flexibility issues.
---------------------------------
How does this convert to ukulele sizes?
Info from : http://www.12fret.com/repairs/scale-lengths/
Comparison Chart
Here’s a chart that shows the scale lengths of a number of instruments around the shop at the moment.
Instrument Scale (inches) Scale (mm)
Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster 25.5″ 647.77 mm
Gibson Les Paul or SG 24.75″ 628.65 mm
Fender Precision or Jazz Bass 34″ 863.6 mm
Hofner Beatle bass 30″ 762 mm
Hagstrom 8-string bass 30 11/16″ 779.5 mm
Gretsch White Penguin, 6118, or Billy Bo Jupiter 24.625″ 625.5 mm
Martin D-18 or D-28 25.4″ 645.2 mm
Martin 000-28 24.9″ 632.5 mm
Gibson J-45 Legend 24.625″ 625.5 mm
Gibson L-4 24.75″ 628.7 mm
Gibson Advanced Jumbo 25.5″ 647.7
Larrivee Baritone 26.9″ 683.3 mm
Ramirez 4NE 25.59″ 650 mm
Various Mandolins – Gibson, Collings, Kentucky 13.86″ 352 mm
Trinity College Octave Mandolin 20.16″ 512 mm
Collings UC-2 Soprano Ukulele 15″ 381 mm
Kala Tenor Ukulele 17″ 431.8 mm
----------------------------------------------------
How do I measure up?
My fretting hand span is an absolute max of 189 mm (gently forcing it flat) which is the 630 mm scale length. That means according to the suggestion: even a tenor ukulele (431.8 mm) should be no problem at all. I do play baritones from time to time too and have little to no problem with those either.
In fact full size classical guitars which is what I started on in elementary school are usually 26" scale which is more in the 650 mm territory. (and no, I lived in a rural area going to a poor school pre-internet era so it's not like i could just order a smaller custom scale instrument. You took what you could get and just hoped really big.) This explains why it was so hard to play, but it certainly wasn't impossible. My teacher said if I hoped to ever play professionally I would need bigger hands and longer fingers. It's just truth guys. It hurt my feelings back then but I understand now. How many professional basketball players have you seen that are like 5'2"? not many. It's certainly *possible* to do, but certain activities work out best if you have the right physical proportions. There are physics reasons why most female gymnasts do not exceed 5'3" in height and why hurdle jumpers usually have long legs.
So yeah even if your hand span is smaller than mine like under the 170mm on the chart you'd still technically have big enough hands for a tenor ukulele.... if that's your dream! At the same time don't feel hand-sized shamed into a smaller (or bigger) ukulele. You like what you like. Enjoy what you play! That's the most important thing.
Usually the people shaming think they are being helpful or inspirational by telling you of some special unicorn who just happened to have the same problem as you but is now a virtuoso. Just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps b.s. The shamers usually don't suffer from your problem, but think they know better than someone who has to live with the issue on a daily basis.
A lot of this data comes from guitar sources. I can't vouch for 100% accuracy as I just copy and pasted.
------------------------
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 250+ 664mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 230 to 250 656mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 210 to 230 650mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 190 to 210 640mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of 170 to 190 630mm scale length
Thumb tip to pinky tip span of below 170 615mm scale length
Comes from http://www.wilsonburnhamguitars.net/2013/03/the-guitars-scale-length-your-hand-size.html
They suggest taking the thumb to pinky span measurement to see what size scale of guitar might feel comfy for you. Detailed directions on the link above. P.S. if you can't get your hand to lay completely flat you can gently press it down as long as it is not painful. Your hand span may be short due to flexibility issues.
---------------------------------
How does this convert to ukulele sizes?
Info from : http://www.12fret.com/repairs/scale-lengths/
Comparison Chart
Here’s a chart that shows the scale lengths of a number of instruments around the shop at the moment.
Instrument Scale (inches) Scale (mm)
Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster 25.5″ 647.77 mm
Gibson Les Paul or SG 24.75″ 628.65 mm
Fender Precision or Jazz Bass 34″ 863.6 mm
Hofner Beatle bass 30″ 762 mm
Hagstrom 8-string bass 30 11/16″ 779.5 mm
Gretsch White Penguin, 6118, or Billy Bo Jupiter 24.625″ 625.5 mm
Martin D-18 or D-28 25.4″ 645.2 mm
Martin 000-28 24.9″ 632.5 mm
Gibson J-45 Legend 24.625″ 625.5 mm
Gibson L-4 24.75″ 628.7 mm
Gibson Advanced Jumbo 25.5″ 647.7
Larrivee Baritone 26.9″ 683.3 mm
Ramirez 4NE 25.59″ 650 mm
Various Mandolins – Gibson, Collings, Kentucky 13.86″ 352 mm
Trinity College Octave Mandolin 20.16″ 512 mm
Collings UC-2 Soprano Ukulele 15″ 381 mm
Kala Tenor Ukulele 17″ 431.8 mm
----------------------------------------------------
How do I measure up?
My fretting hand span is an absolute max of 189 mm (gently forcing it flat) which is the 630 mm scale length. That means according to the suggestion: even a tenor ukulele (431.8 mm) should be no problem at all. I do play baritones from time to time too and have little to no problem with those either.
In fact full size classical guitars which is what I started on in elementary school are usually 26" scale which is more in the 650 mm territory. (and no, I lived in a rural area going to a poor school pre-internet era so it's not like i could just order a smaller custom scale instrument. You took what you could get and just hoped really big.) This explains why it was so hard to play, but it certainly wasn't impossible. My teacher said if I hoped to ever play professionally I would need bigger hands and longer fingers. It's just truth guys. It hurt my feelings back then but I understand now. How many professional basketball players have you seen that are like 5'2"? not many. It's certainly *possible* to do, but certain activities work out best if you have the right physical proportions. There are physics reasons why most female gymnasts do not exceed 5'3" in height and why hurdle jumpers usually have long legs.
So yeah even if your hand span is smaller than mine like under the 170mm on the chart you'd still technically have big enough hands for a tenor ukulele.... if that's your dream! At the same time don't feel hand-sized shamed into a smaller (or bigger) ukulele. You like what you like. Enjoy what you play! That's the most important thing.
Usually the people shaming think they are being helpful or inspirational by telling you of some special unicorn who just happened to have the same problem as you but is now a virtuoso. Just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps b.s. The shamers usually don't suffer from your problem, but think they know better than someone who has to live with the issue on a daily basis.