Best tips for Beginning Ukulele
10 April 2022 | Posted By Erin Harrington
So.. you’ve made the decision to start Ukulele. AMAZING! I am so excited for you.
But where to begin?
There are so many wild and wonderful Ukuleles available in a range of sizes online and in music stores if can be daunting.
Luckily… I’m here to help you get stared.
I must have tested, tuned and played 100s of Ukuleles from the time I started working in a music store to teaching for the past 5 years and there are a few things that are essential to help you sail smoothly and hit the ground running instead of capsizing and hitting the rocks!
Read on below for my top tips and reviews.
What size Ukulele should I get?
SIZES for Beginners:
Soprano – is best for primary school aged children as the frets are the smallest and easy for little hands to get up and over the strings as they build strength.
Concert – Best for all beginner players, being bigger than the Soprano it will give room to fit 3 fingers on the fret board for starting chords like G7 and G.
Tenor - Best for Men (or those with larger, thicker hands) as the frest are the widest and will help you achieve tricky chords like D major (3 fingers across the 2nd fret). This Ukulele is also great for teachers or players wanting some extra volume for leading a group (and being heard).
Baritone – not for beginners unless you want to learn Guitar as the chords are very different to standard Ukulele. The largest size of Ukulele. If you want to learn on a Baritone and play Ukulele chords you can CAPO the 5th fret and play from the 5th fret onwards.
How much should I spend on my Ukulele?
A good quality beginner Ukulele costs between $100 - $400 depending on your budget.
Avoid buying your ukulele from grocery stores such as ALDI or toy stores as they will not be real instruments and have tuning issues… you’ll not want to play it.
What are some of most Reputable Ukulele Brands?
These are some reputable brands I stand by!
Lanikai, Kala, Maton, Ohana, Makala and Kealoha. All my Ukuleles, aside from my Kala Resonator are Lanikais.
Should I get an Acoustic Electric Ukulele?
What is Acoustic Electric? It is a Ukulele with the ability to be plugged in to an amplifier.
If you have played instruments before and love song writing consider getting an acoustic electric Ukulele as it will give you room to grow, play with pedals (my favourite!) and go to open mic nights as a long term goal. It is much easier to buy the pick up already installed than to get it installed later… and will cost you the same amount as the Ukulele or more. I made this mistake with my first Ukulele and went through 3 different types of pick ups before I found one that worked! The maintenance cost me three times more than the actual ukulele.
If you do want to install later however, the best pick up I’ve found is the LR Baggs FIVE 0 pick up designed specifically for ukuleles.
Ready to learn?
Check out my Beginner Ukulele Course here,
Or book in a one on one session to get you started
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