An early uke tip that I forgot & then remembered-"play where the neck meets the body"

An early uke tip that I forgot & then remembered-"play where the neck meets the body"

The first time I asked someone else for advice on playing the uke, and the first time I went to a lesson, I was given the advice to put my non-fretting hand (damn i can't remember the more simple term for what you call that hand, the right hand if you're right-handed, so i'm just going to call it the non-fretting hand for now) at the point where the neck meets the body when I play.

I started doing that but then returned to my old tendency of playing it closer to the soundhole.

But recently, almost by accident, I started playing near the neck again. And it was good! It not only ended up sounding better, it also felt to me like I had more control over the uke. I think I'd even go as far as to say that the sound that I associate with "good uke playing" involves 1) an all solid hardwood uke and 2) playing it where the neck meets the body. I think that for years I liked that particular sound without realizing that those factors (on top of being generally good at playing, of course) were a major part of it.

Anyway, that is my advice for anyone stumbling on to it... that that old piece of basic uke advice, which is easily discarded, is actually good.

Curious to hear other UUers thoughts!

That has been my experience too! And I agree on the question of "control"; seems like when you strum where neck meets body, you're able to "hug" the uke a little more securely with the broader portion of the forearm (nearer to the elbow than to the wrist, that is). My uke just seems to have a sweeter tone when I strum where the neck and body meet.

Super interesting Bill - I had been thinking more about that sweeter tone and the tension of the strings, but the "hug" part is definitely a big part of it, now that I think about it.

Agreed, the tone is sweeter there, especially on soprano, I've found. However, the tone near/over the soundhole is louder, and tone seems more trebly. Both spots, and everywhere in between, and beyond, have good applications.

I get more bass note at that point. Sometime it is too boomy or I want to emphasise the treble and strum further over the sound hole