Ukulele - Soprano? Tenor? Baritone? Which Uke is Which?

What Size is my Ukulele?
Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke BSEd, MA
"songthief"


Ukulele, Ukelele, Uke...
All gemon spellings for the same instrument.Yet really there are at least FOUR different sizes of ukes.When buying or selling a uke, or when purchasing strings,it'simportant to know exactly which size uke you're dealing with.

The four gemon sizes are -
Soprano - Concert - Tenor - Baritone
If your uke's overall length is 21" then it's likely a soprano,the most gemon size. But a better way to verify sizeis to measure the scale length. That's the lengthof the free, vibrating portion of the strings. Measurefrom bridge (where the anchor near the bottom) tonut (where they leave the fingerboard near the tuners).

A soprano uke has a 13" scale lengthand is usually about 21" total length.
A concert uke has a 15" scale lengthand is usually about 23" total length.
A tenor uke has a 17" scale lengthand is usually about 26" total length.
A baritone uke has a 19" scale lengthand is usually about 30" total length.

It's the Ukulele Law - Not
Like most things musical, there are exceptions. Youmay certainly find a soprano uke with a 14" scale length.And to some degree, uke strings are interchangable.You can put soprano strings on a concert or evena tenor or bari. The timbre of the instrument may change,but generally it's safe. You may not be able to achieve thetuning you like using strings from another size uke. Or youmay discover a timbre and tuning that you like even better thanthe more conventional tuning. I personally am fond of playingRolling Stones and Steve Winwood tunes on my soprano. That'sabout as far away from traditional as you can probably get.
If you DO like to experiment, I suggest starting with the moreconventional strings (soprano strings on a soprano or bari stringson a bari). Try your experimental tunings there first. Then changea little at a time to see what results you achieve.
Most importantly, play the little pineapple..:-)

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke - okay songthief