Tenor or soprano for adult beginner

Boomershakalaka, look at alternate fingerings for your D - you should be able to do a partial barre to play it with one or two fingers rather than fitting all three in. This may depend on your setup. It's more or less what I referred to previously with Dm. I had a heck of a time fitting three fingers in to fret that, but after lowering the action I can cover both the G and C strings on the second fret with one finger. Barring the G and C strings makes it a really easy finger roll to switch between F and Dm, and they're friends who show up together frequently (at least if you like A minor ;) ). For D I generally either barre the G, C, and E strings with a single finger or the G and C with one and pick up the E with another depending on where I'm going to and where I'm coming from.
 
Man I was having a ball with my soprano when I first started. Then I got to the D chord. So I bought a concert and, again, had a blast until that godforsaken D chord popped up again. UGH!!!! So now with Tenors and while I'm still no fan of the D chord, I can at least get three of my sausage-fingers within one fret. So my two cents...consider your hand size, your actual size (I'm a wide guy who should have started at least with a concert) and your overall agility with your fingers. I can play some complex chrods now but not when attempting to contort my arms and fingers on a small fret board.

Ah, the dreaded D chord. Actually it’s no big deal really once you learn a trick or two.

I have short fat fingers and play both Soprano and Concert sizes, sometimes the Soprano is easier. For the D chord play a G7 and then move your fingers across to the second fret and up a string. Now that your fingers are stacked (in a triangle shape) rather than side by side the D chord becomes so much easier.

It’s a separate debate but the lack of room on Sopranos is more due to the closeness of the strings to each other rather than the closeness of the frets to each other. When possible I set the strings about 10mm apart.
 
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Tenor if you want something easier to play (I'm thinking of those 4442 E chords that people don't like. The extra fret space really helps)
Concert if you want something that sounds more ukulele-ish

In case these also cross your mind,
Soprano if you want that authentic light, fun ukulele sound
Baritone...you might as well get a guitar xD
 
Ah, the dreaded D chord. Actually it’s no big deal really once you learn a trick or two.

I have short fat fingers and play both Soprano and Concert sizes, sometimes the Soprano is easier. For the D chord play a G7 and then move your fingers across to the second fret and up a string. Now that your fingers are stacked (in a triangle shape) rather than side by side the D chord becomes so much easier.

It’s a separate debate but the lack of room on Sopranos is more due to the closeness of the strings to each other rather than the closeness of the frets to each other. When possible I set the strings about 10mm apart.

I had trouble too, like everyone else with large hands.
Then I learned to use my index finger to cover both the 3 and 4 string and use the middle finger for the 2 string.
 
I had trouble too, like everyone else with large hands.
Then I learned to use my index finger to cover both the 3 and 4 string and use the middle finger for the 2 string.

Yep, that works for me too though I discovered the other (triangle) method first. With the transferred G7 form your fingers need to be pretty much perpendicular to the fret board, I find. With your method your fingers need to come in at an angle, I place my index finger first to secure the top two strings and then add my middle finger to the second string. Using your method it becomes a moveable chord, so go for the E chord - I swop my fingers around for that though, but I’m diverting the thread which I shouldn’t be.

Bottom line: when using the appropriate technique on a Soprano your hand size isn’t that important.

[But I still like widely spaced strings and getting the correct technique(s) takes time and practice.]
 
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I thought that coming from playing guitar for years that I would prefer tenor.
However I find myself gravitating more towards the Soprano & Concert sound.
Don't get me wrong I love my tenor, but at the moment I've been playing a lot more Soprano.
 
It's good to get unbiased feedback here, I tried a Tenor a really lovely instrument but felt like a step away from the ukulele sound that I like. Plus it was way to good for me. I think I will stick with the Soprano until I get somewhere with learning and keep a lookout for a Concert at the same time.
 
Just wondering what the consensus is for an older guy to start to learn on.
Is it easier on a Tenor given distance between frets and handling size being bigger.
I suppose what l'm asking is do you disadvantage yourself my starting on the smaller Soprano as an older adult?

Disadvantaging a new player, esp new-to-strings player, can easily lead to disappointment & quitting uke/fading away into more rewarding/less frustrating stuff.

The distance between frets can be challenging for new players but not, IMO, as challenging as distance between strings, which is determined by the width of the fingerboard at the nut.

I sent my partner, "an older guy" to his uke class this week w/ a Pono tenor that has a radius (curved) fretboard, which arguably also helps w/space between strings. Had I not acquired that uke this week, I was thinking about getting him an inexpensive uke (pretty much all have flat fingerboards) that's 1.5"/38mm at the nut.
Supposedly, there are some out there that are 1.75" at the nut ("too" wide, IMO).

This is sort of a rough guide to nut widths (updates are in comments) https://ukenut.com/comparison-of-ukulele-nut-widths/.
Keep in mind, once in a while, advertised widths don't match what people manually measure.
 
Hi

i agree with Wukulele, it is not the instrument size but the nut width that makes the ukulele easier or harder to play. Kala I think have a very narrow nut width which may make even a tenor difficult. However it makes barre chords easier. I have an Ohana tenor which has a really nice wide nut and I have no problems with smuching fingers to play chord shapes like D and E but barre chords seem inordinately hard to get a good tone (not a total beginners technique anyway).

Having said that I find a soprano is so small it is hard to hold on to, like a slippery bar of soap or a wriggly puppy.
 
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Four of The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain play Soprano, including Peter Brooke Turner who is six feet eight inches tall. Will Grove White usually plays Soprano, sometimes Sopranissimo and occasionally for a tune or two plays a uke the size of the average human hand.
 
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Hi

i agree with Wukulele, it is not the instrument size but the nut width that makes the ukulele easier or harder to play. Kala I think have a very narrow nut width which may make even a tenor difficult. However it makes barre chords easier. I have an Ohana tenor which has a really nice wide nut and I have no problems with smuching fingers to play chord shapes like D and E but barre chords seem inordinately hard to get a good tone (not a total beginners technique anyway).

Having said that I find a soprano is so small it is hard to hold on to, like a slippery bar of soap or a wriggly puppy.

Are you sure it's not just the action that is high on the Ohana? I wouldn't think a wider nut would be harder to fret a barre chord right? You are still barring the same area on a more narrow fret.
 
Hi

i agree with Wukulele, it is not the instrument size but the nut width that makes the ukulele easier or harder to play. Kala I think have a very narrow nut width which may make even a tenor difficult. However it makes barre chords easier. I have an Ohana tenor which has a really nice wide nut and I have no problems with smuching fingers to play chord shapes like D and E but barre chords seem inordinately hard to get a good tone (not a total beginners technique anyway).

Having said that I find a soprano is so small it is hard to hold on to, like a slippery bar of soap or a wriggly puppy.

I have both Kala and Makala Sopranos and their nut widths are 35mm or 1&3/8” - some other major brands are even narrower. On the Kala I replaced the nut and spaced the strings to 30mm centres, a definite improvement but having played for several years now the slightly closer spaced strings on the Makala are less of an issue than they once were.
(Edit. I think that that is most likely down to a combination of improved technique, familiarity and changes in my fingers. The skin on the end of your finger tips gets tougher as you play and so the fingers interact differently with the Uke.)
IMHO players with bigger fingers should avoid narrow spaced strings ‘cause, in my experience, they are an impediment to playing well.

Barring strings presents it’s own issues but, depending on your finger size and strength, a wide neck might possibly make the task more difficult. What’s much more important though, I believe, is how well the action is set-up and where the fleshy parts of your figures fall on the strings.

I agree, Sopranos can be small slippery things to hold. Once I learned to cheat by using a strap (lower bout to headstock) they became just perfect for much of my playing.
 
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Concert all the way. I started on a concert and after 14 years I still prefer concerts to sopranos, tenors and baritones. Tenors are my second choice but in my opinion, concerts rule.
 
In my mind the soprano is THE uke. It's just so comfortably small, you can put it anywhere. Not louder than necessary either.
 
In my mind the soprano is THE uke. It's just so comfortably small, you can put it anywhere. Not louder than necessary either.


:agree: There is something I love about the sound and feel of a soprano.
 
Maybe start small, then expand to bigger and bigger ukes if feeling like it?

As long as we play they are all good.

The soprano I think is the basis though, from where it all started. You really know it's a different instrument than the guitar, in several ways. For me it was much getting the most basic string instrument possible, doing its job. Small and light, four strings, no strap - and a great history and a happy community!
 
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You need to consider the possibility of your having limited agility now or in the near future when working on barre chords or some complex chords. Scale is also a big factor as one ages. At age 55 I could play an electric and classical guitar strumming. I quit guitar for several years and when 70 plus picked it up again. Wrist was now stiff and not easy to bend any. Left hand thumb hurts when pressed on the back neck of the instrument. And scale, something I never considered before is now my main concern. I now play Baritone Ukulele and Tenor Ukulele. The 20 inch scale is about it for me because of the hand problems. On half size classical Yamaha Guitar I sometimes have to capo on 2nd fret to shorten the scale in order to play. Talk with the pros at different places and discuss these issues. They are important things to consider. But never give up.
 
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that sopranos have the lowest string tension. So for first time players the strings on a soprano are the easiest to hold down.
 
One thing I don't think has been mentioned is that sopranos have the lowest string tension. So for first time players the strings on a soprano are the easiest to hold down.

True that. As a downside when the strings are looser, it is also perhaps too easy to bend them erroneously sideways. Especially if your fingertips have hard time fitting in for some chords. So some off pitch effect because of that.
That could also be a thing to learn better technique as a positive.
 
It's nice to read these replies and it really does show there is no one answer. As others have advised I tried all different sizes. I have now settled on a concert size, fitted a low G string which I love the sound of.
Though progress is fairly slow Im happy that I'm finally learning to play an instrument and cannot put it down!
 
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