Ukulele is a four-stringed Hawaiian instrument, commonly used to be known as Ukulele. It was invented in Portugal and prevailed in Hawaii.
Ukulele can perform ensembles, ensembles, solo, and play a variety of styles.
The basic chord is “G.C.E.A,” the strings are “nylon strings,” and the nails can be left or left when playing in the right hand. The playing position makes the body easily rest on the front chest.
Top 5 Ukulele for Beginners
Last update on 2021-10-21 at 09:13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
How to choose Ukulele for Beginners
Many of my friends want to buy ukuleles to play and learn by themselves. The first question that should be encountered firstly should be “How to choose the piano,” and is it that ukulele is difficult to learn? How to pick? Where can I buy it? Is it very cheap? and many more
I will help you answer these questions below.
Ukulele Vs. Guitar
The difference with the guitar: the ukulele has only four strings, and the guitar has six.
The same as the guitar: all belong to the stringed instrument, the same way of tuning (four-string three-string two-string one-string empty string sounds are four, three, four degrees).
Types of ukulele:
Ukulele has two standard shapes, one is a guitar type, and the other is the pineapple type.
In general, the pineapple type has better resonance, the tone is more unique, and the guitar type is more traditional, but the actual difference between the two is not too great.
- Soprano: 21 inches (about 55 cm in total length), the number of strings is about 12-14, the string sound: GCEA (from the fourth string to the first string).
- Concert: 23 inches (about 60 cm in total length), the number of strings is about 15-18, string sound: GCEA. C type
- Tenor: 26 inches (about 68 cm in full length), the number of strings is about 15-20, string sound: GCEA. T-type
- Baritone: 30 inches (about 80 cm in total length), string sound: DGBE. B type
In particular, the B-type piano is the largest uke size for the bass, and novices are not recommended.
He may be suitable for friends who have played guitar. Because the final sound is the first four strings of the guitar, it is a small guitar, so the fingering is also a reduced version of the guitar fingering, which is different from the other three ukulele fingerings.
When you buy a piano, you can ignore it. Many people in the industry have a lot of doubts about the B-type piano because its sound is not rich in the guitar and loses the characteristics of the ukulele.
How to choose the size of the ukulele
21-inch-S type: light and easy to take without burden, can be brought to play with friends at any time, but the range is more limited
23-inch-C: Fingers with medium or a little finger flexibility, or a slightly older elder to learn, will need a large piano to press the string, choose S-type fingers on the fingerboard will be very crowded, choose T The type may feel bad standing, so the middle of S and T is C type.
26-inch-T: The size of Jake and James Hill masters, the range is wider, and you want to choose a resonance that is suitable for playing. Selecting it will be a good choice! However, the volume is relatively large, the fingerboard ratio is also wide, and the length is long.
30 inch-B type: ignore.
The above introduction is suitable for friends who can’t personally test the piano to see the real product. If you can test the piano yourself, of course, it is best to choose the online purchaser.
How to choose the price of the ukulele?
First, set the position to buy the ukulele, is it to be a toy? When is the instrument? Is it holding the budget?
Some people may think that they should buy a cheap color piano to play, and then do an upgrade to buy a good point. Still, some cheap ukulele sound is not allowed, wood is poor, work time, string button installation, bridge Workmanship is easy to cause poor stress, deformation, and sound resonance is very poor, they are “toy,” “decoration,” “things that can’t get on the table”!
A good ukulele is mainly to have a strong body, a good resonance, and a balance of wood stress, with a good string knob, strings,
Therefore, I suggest that you use your highest budget as the standard for buying the first piano. It is usually not regrettable to buy a piano with a lack of spirit. It is more meaningful for your first piano!
Where do you want to buy a ukulele?
As for the brand, because if it is a good brand tone and quality will be more stable, do not have to worry about not being able to test the piano online, will buy a sparse piano.
What kind of wood piano to buy:
In the face of a variety of different arrangements of ukulele, beginners must be very confused when buying, at the end, which is best for you only to personally played before you can find.
The material used to make the ukulele is very rich, and the panel has the most obvious influence on the sound due to the direct connection of the strings.
Standard panel manufacturing materials are mainly the following
- Mahogany
Mahogany is a block of brown wood with a dense line-like pore texture. It is the most common material for making musical instruments. Its sound is full and warm and very resistant.
Because the output is easy to process, its price is relatively low, and most of the friends’ first pianos are often made of mahogany.
The tone and quality of mahogany from different places are also different, among which the Honduran mahogany in the United States is the most expensive and top-grade.
- Cloud wood
Spruce is a kind of beige wood with fine and straight wood grain. Its sound is clear and bright, cold, and penetrating. Most of the acoustic guitar panels are made of white silk.
Ukulele Tutorial 2
- Red pine
Red pine is an orange wood. The wood grain is similar to spruce. It is also a fine and straight wood grain. However, its tone is more powerful and powerful, and it is a common material for making classical guitars.
- Hawaiian Acacia
Hawaiian Acacia should be the most familiar wood for ukulele lovers.
It has a golden color, a satin-like beautiful horizontal pleated texture, a warm and sweet tone, and a small volume. It is the traditional wood for making ukulele, but unfortunately, it is expensive because it is a rare and endangered species in the United States.
If your budget is less than $300, then you don’t have to care too much about what special wood you use, as long as the sound is like it.
Because such budgets are plywood, the use of mostly mahogany, or even Sapwood wood plywood, the characteristics of the wood sheet at this price is not particularly small. The focus is instead the resonance box Balance between design and other production,
Just know that the resonance and characteristics of each kind of wood will be different. It is more important to get started with the introduction of the piano!
After you meet friends, you can naturally try different piano sounds, and then find the sound and characteristics of your favorite wood. Still, it is not recommended to buy a piano or color piano with thick paint!
Too thick first makes it difficult for you to judge that it is a slab. The piano with insufficient craftsmanship or low cost will not balance the best between the lacquer and the plate. If it is too thick, it will not feel the resonance and resonance of the wood!
If you have a high budget (more than $1,000), if you want to buy a better piano, you can choose a single-sided, double-sided veneer, or a full-board piano. Be sure to obtain a high-end piano with high brand awareness.
At present, the most common ones are mahogany, spruce, rosewood, mango, and acacia. Acacia is the best wood for the ukulele, and the sound is clear but expensive.
However, I recommend trying different sounds because the most expensive Acacia is not necessarily your favorite voice.
Although in most cases, the materials and prices are often proportional to the sound, it is still a matter of personal preference! And the wood itself also has grade differences, for example, poor Acacia wood is not necessarily better than good mahogany, mango wood sound!
So you can’t just choose what wood to choose! The point is still to listen to the feeling that I have been touched or like this piano!
Final reminder:
If you don’t know much about the ukulele, you can ask friends who are playing around with Ukulele to ask questions and then decide which one to choose.
It is essential to buy a piano that sounds and looks like it! Because you have to love the piano before you have the motivation to practice.