Beginner uke size for 7 year old?

micahlele

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Folks, I know this sort of thing has been asked a bunch before, but it looks like the links in the sticky above are all broken, so I'm asking it again.

My 7-year old son wants to start learning uke. I play and have a nice tenor, but I'm wondering if there's a consensus on the best size uke for a child beginner. Would a soprano be too small or just right? Should I consider a long neck soprano, or maybe a concert? Even the tenor doesn't seem like it would be too big. Just looking for a push in the right direction, and I'm sure some of you have experience with beginners in that age group.

And if you have specific recommendations, that would be appreciated as well. I'm willing to spend up to $200 or $250 to get a decent beginner instrument that will play well and sound good, but if I can spend less that would be fine too.

Mahalo!
 
It depends on the child really. When I was looking at 1/4-size guitars, basically baritone ukulele scale, they were mostly marketed at 5-yr olds. So apparently someone thinks baritone wouldn't be too big. On the other end, adults play soprano so you can't say that would be too small.

I'd say take your son to a Guitar Center and try some - see what size he likes. I wouldn't necessarily buy the uke there, mind you. :p
 
I think the best size is a soprano for its shorter scale length: there's less stretching for the smaller hand and the tiny finger tips shouldn't mind the tighter fretboard area. Also, there is less string tension, which makes it easier for kids.

Another important issue is the body depth (i.e. thickness). For a child with shorter arms and fingers (compared to an adult), it would be easier to play a thinner ukulele because it'll allow them more reach with the strumming hand.

I recently bought a Kala KA-SSTU-S , which is a solid spruce top travel (thin line) ukulele. It is only 1.5" thick; and its factory Aguila strings doesn't require too much tension. It's easy to play and barre chords are very easy to do. The sound is better than I expected. I think this uke would make a great kids ukulele.
 
I would have thought soprano scale myself, but it depends on the size of your son! All the points made by clear in the above post are valid.Best if you could somehow let him handle different sizes and see what he deels confident with? I know that is difficult in these times, but that would be the best bet I.M.O.
 
So You are saying that the size of your body determines the size of the ukulele ? It makes no sense to me.
 
So You are saying that the size of your body determines the size of the ukulele ? It makes no sense to me.

The way I read the comments is that body size impacts on the range of sizes that might suit. Personally I think that Soprano is the proper size for a Uke. At the moment I am mainly using a ‘nice’ Concert, but I prefer and normally use Sopranos - ‘original and best’. If the child is big enough to manage a Soprano then I’d buy them a second hand Dolphin (cheap, can sound OK and tough as old boots), set it up and go from there ... should last them indefinitely and be good for when they eventually go off to University too. I wouldn’t spend large sums on an instrument, it’s what the child does with what it’s got that counts ... kids somehow break stuff too and don’t have a long interest span.
 
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I'd try a soprano with geared tuners . I hate seeing geared tuners on a soprano but for children it will be much easier for them to tune .
 
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I agree with the others regarding the size. I don't get how a soprano would somehow automatically be too small for a child when plenty of adults, including myself, play them.

I would suggest you get your kid a Flight travel ukulele. Costs around $50, plastic fretboard, neck, back and sides, wooden soundboard. Really sturdy making it perfect for a younger child. You can get the long neck model if you really insist on a concert scale. Better yet, if you want to spend up to $250, get a Magic Fluke. Same principle as the Flight travel uke, i.e., plastic body and wooden soundboard, with the exception of a wooden neck. Also US made. Both sound excellent regardless of the plastic body.
 
Size doesn't matter. The child will adapt to whatever ukulele he or she plays. I personally would take the child to the music store and merely ask "which one do you want" and then abide by the child's decision.
 
Folks, I know this sort of thing has been asked a bunch before, but it looks like the links in the sticky above are all broken, so I'm asking it again.

My 7-year old son wants to start learning uke. I play and have a nice tenor, but I'm wondering if there's a consensus on the best size uke for a child beginner. Would a soprano be too small or just right? Should I consider a long neck soprano, or maybe a concert? Even the tenor doesn't seem like it would be too big. Just looking for a push in the right direction, and I'm sure some of you have experience with beginners in that age group.

And if you have specific recommendations, that would be appreciated as well. I'm willing to spend up to $200 or $250 to get a decent beginner instrument that will play well and sound good, but if I can spend less that would be fine too.

Mahalo!
Get the flea at concert scale. Super durable, good intonation and sound and will last a kid for a lifetime and take the damage a kid can cause. Don’t get a solid body, if you want your kid to feel like they own it you have to let them play and do what they want with it and solid bodies are not designed for it but need a lot of TLC and humidity care. I was debating between plastic fretboard or wood, went with plastic but next time I would go for wood.
 
A smaller ukulele will generally be lighter weight and easier for a younger kid to handle. Also less bulky to carry to carry around. Regarding ease of playing, I think the shorter distance between frets does make more complex chords easier to play with smaller fingers.
 
7 year olds can learn to play the guitar, so I don't think size matters that much. Having said that, stick with a soprano. Lots of durable, inexpensive options there. A Kala dolphin/shark or Flight TUS-35 are pretty tough and not a lot of money if they're rough with it.
 
Dolphins/sharks are playable, cute, reasonably durable and inexpensive. They come in bright colors, they sound nice and I've met quite a few kids who instantly fell in love with them. No matter how determined a 7-year-old is about wanting to learn uke, I would not invest a lot of money at this point in the journey. A modest uke that is "all mine" is far better than an expensive uke that mom/dad wants to supervise.

A quiet uke has advantages :cool:

If your little player sticks with it and wants a better instrument, well that's a mighty handy bargaining chip for future negotiations. We parents need all the help we can get!
 
My grandkids have Enya Nova U concert carbon/plastic ukuleles. Came as a kit, pretty indestructible, and they look cool. They were 8 and 7 when they got them. The youngest is especially taken with it and is already fingerpicking. He always liked playing my tenor Outdoor ukulele before the Enya.
 
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Size doesn't matter. The child will adapt to whatever ukulele he or she plays. I personally would take the child to the music store and merely ask "which one do you want" and then abide by the child's decision.

I love this!!

But yes, if visiting a shop is an option for you it will be an adventure for the child and they’ll be more invested in playing if they choose themselves! :)
 
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Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. I really appreciate it. My son can be quite opinionated about what he likes, so I think the best approach for him will be to let him get his hands on a bunch of ukes and see what he connects with and worry less about size.
 
I like the Magic Fluke Flea idea...personally I like the wood fretboard.....durable....can be taken whereever you might want to play for the most part......good sound (at least I and some others think so),,,,,,a real instrument....I also like the geared tuners but they are an added expense......I have a Fluke and perhaps for a kid the big rounded body may not be the best choice....

Hope you son enjoy's playing as much as the rest of us do......
 
In my earlier post, I did not mean to imply the size of the child dictated the ukulele size per se! I meant, that many big adults,myself included, play a soprano scale from preference. People often post, that they have 'small hands' and find the tenor scale a bit of a stretch; equally, some complain of having 'big hands' and cannot get comfortable on a soprano,and they prefer a tenor. I just meant that for any player, be it child or adult, the best option I.M.O. has always been to try and handle an instrument (tricky in these times, I know!) and find the size and scale that the person is comfortable with!
 
Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. I really appreciate it. My son can be quite opinionated about what he likes, so I think the best approach for him will be to let him get his hands on a bunch of ukes and see what he connects with and worry less about size.

Good luck with your expedition. At seven I
 
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