Not only can a proper setup make your instrument easier to play, it can actually make your uke sound better, as it lets the strings vibrate freely. 3. Best Affordable Ukulele for Beginners: Donner Concert Ukulele Mahogany DUC-1. Rosewood. Other benefits include social interaction, a sense of achievement, and improved reading comprehension. 3. Finally, give the ukulele a good once-over to make sure it looks well-made. Picking/strumming location. The brand is a little new, and it seems like they were able to catch on to what the youth ukulele masters want these days. The ukulele is a great instrument to use as a gift and the truth is, anyone that receives it as a gift will surely feel very happy. That said, if you're in a rush, here are the best beginner ukuleles at a glance: Kala KA-C - Best Overall Cordoba 15CM - Premium Choice Official Kala Learn to Play - Best Budget Kmise Ukulele - Best Tenor Package Makala MK-B - Best for Guitar Players Take these covers and make them your own! Best Tenor Ukulele for Beginners: Kala KA-T. Best Baritone for Beginners: Kala KA-ZCT-B Baritone. If you are looking for a traditionally built, Hawaiian Koa, professional-level ukulele, one of these four brands is a very good choice. Furthermore, it features a plethora of accessories for beginners. While it makes sense that a ukulele is a perfect travel buddy based on size, ukuleles specifically designed for travel are very much a thing. If it looks cheaply made, it likely is. Sopranos are also the most affordable as well as most portable, making them ideal for beginners. Best Soprano Ukulele for Beginners: Flight TUS-35. A sharp A means you're a half-step above A and a flat A means you're a half-step below it. Hawaiian and ragtime . Related: This concert uke features a mahogany body that is known for its superb and enriched melody. There are many great brands out there, but some trusted, well-known brands that make great beginner instruments include Four times the price of others! The best beginner ukuleles from Fender, Epiphone, Martin, Kala, Gretsch and more - prices starting from $79/66 Included in this guide: 1 Kala KA C RW Mahogany Concert Check Price 2 Cordoba 20TM-CE Tenor Ukulele Check Price 3 Fender Grace VanderWaal Zuma Signature ukulele Check Price 4 Gretsch G9100 Std Soprano Ukulele Check Price 5 Epiphone Most importantly, it is not a shoe that you are buying. For me, craftsmanship, tone and playability are the basics of a good ukulele. The task of setting string height, adjusting nut and saddle, dressing frets, and re-stringing is called a "setup" and some luthiers specialize in this process. Body and Sound Hole Ukulele has a body that got its top, back, and sides. Measuring around 21", the soprano size is also referred to as the "standard" size in the world of ukuleles. Steel is an excellent material for making a bright and twangy ukulele sound, and it is also an excellent material for strings that are dependable and can adjust to your tuning. Well, a key is basically a group of chords that sound "good" together. What makes a good ukulele? The strings on this uke are Aquila Nylguts which are very smooth to touch and delicate enough for first-timers, preferred by most ukulele players, your fingers will thank you for that. It is not something you can prove with a resume. Ukulele brands you can trust. It's brownish wood. What makes a good uke is like asking what makes a good person. Strings made of nylon polymers are commonly available in a variety of shapes and colors, each with its own distinct feel and tone. Playing Easy Country Ukulele Songs. Here are some of the main variables I can think of that affect tone: How tightly you hold the ukulele. One step bigger is the concert ukulele at 23 inches (58 cm) with 15-20 frets. Straps, tuners, and cases can be very convenient, but they won't matter if the ukulele isn't very good. There are a number of boxes a beginner ukulele needs to tick, all of which we'll look at below. The best beginner ukuleles and packages in 2022 Likewise, the neck consists of the same wood. Also known as standard, a Soprano ukulele is what most people are going to have. The top is primarily responsible for transmitting the strings' vibrations. Kala's KA-15S came into the world in 2005 as the answer to a high-quality, affordable, entry-level ukulele and still remains the unrivaled ukulele in its class. 1. The vintage ones go for. Travel ukeleles are designed to be either light-weight, compact, weather . Lanikai LU-21 Soprano ukulele is a great model to try. It pays to get a good ukulele to start out, and add on the accessories later. Sometimes the best travel companion is an instrument, one that is small, pleasant, and perfectly portable - like the ukulele! Here's what a Lanikai uke sounds like: Fender Is A Good Ukulele Brand Fender is one of the top-rated brands that might have heard of before. It also makes that really typical, classic, bright ukulele sound. Kamaka, Ko'olau, Kanile'a, and KoAloha. Character is difficult to describe. 2. 9. To find matching chords to create your song, you can simply choose a key from the card and use any of the chords on that line (horizontally). It is the instrument of choice for schools - More people learn to play on a Kala than any. Playing an instrument has many health benefits including increased eye-hand coordination, lower stress levels, improved brain function, focus, and mental clarity. All the following songs make great ukulele/piano duets: Already Gone (The Eagles) Amazing Grace (Traditional) Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival) Barbara Ann (The Beach Boys) Be-Bop-A-Lula (Gene Vincent) Blowin' in the Wind (Bob Dylan) Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones) Cecelia (Simon & Garfunkel) It's reliable but also relatively budget-friendly, with a bright, classic tone. The KA-15S is well-suited for classroom use, practicing, and acoustic performance. The point is -The truth is not always in specs. Instead of being limited to G4-C4-E4-A4 and A4-D4-F#4-B4, you can now also tune the instrument to G3-C4-E4-A4. The body is bigger and the neck is longer with more room between the frets, which makes it a little bit easier to handle. Description & History of this top brand With patience and practice, you'll be ready to treat friends to fun sing-alongs. Its sound hole helps to project the ukulele's output. This wood is an eye-catching wood and uses some grains. Jens Lekman referred to the ukulele as "an emasculated guitar", which makes a good case for it as a guitar stripped of the machismo and phallic connotations of the six-string. Kamaka, Ko'olau, Kanile'a, and KoAloha make up the legendary "Four K's" of traditional Hawaiian ukulele makers. For instance, in my opinion the worst sounding of all demoed was the Mango Lanikai. These notes go from A to G, and between them, for each half-step, you have sharp and flat notes. Editor's Choice: Ohana Ukuleles SK-10 Mahogany Soprano. It can boast a wide range of clear and loud sounds that are always impressive. Here Are the Best Ukulele Brands 20. As with any instrument, excellent craftsmanship ensures that the ukulele is well-built, sturdy, and emits the optimal musical grain. Materials " plywood A strip of "x3" red oak Wood glue Ukulele shape templates (see below for a free one) " steel bolt, or piece of bone or hardwood 2" Finishing nails Epoxy Wood finish Tuning pegs Strings Spray adhesive Build the Body Once you have all of the materials and tools gathered, you can begin construction on the ukulele body. ADM. What makes for "good tone" is totally a matter of preference. As a result, they are known to be one of the best ukulele brands for professional musicians, as well for beginners and everyone in between. Remember, a higher price doesn't . Next is a Concert ukulele which is two inches longer both in scale and length. This is one of the best ukulele brands for professionals that want a world-renown and handcrafted instrument. The Donner DUC-1 is wonderfully the best-sounding ukulele for the price range. It is an elegant ukulele and offers warm and rounded sounds. If you're shopping for your first ukulele, a soprano is your best bet. What Makes a Good Ukulele The sound quality of a ukulele will ultimately depend on its materials and construction. The Ukulele is very simple to play, so even when presented as a gift to someone who doesn't know much about the instrument, he or she won't find it hard to learn. Some of the ones I've heard good things about: Fluke/Fleas - With a plastic body, these are very durable and have great tone Martins - The same company that makes Guitars. Players that consider themselves good should know how these scales work, as they help in understanding everything else and they make playing the uke easier. This is where the Key Card for which you can find a downloadable PDF at the bottom of this page comes in handy. Leolani A small, family-owned brand, Leolani means "voice of heaven" and was launched in 2002 in Hawaii by Jenny Liu. Traditionally, these instruments are made with tonewood. Kamaka is one of the oldest ukulele brands, having been established in 1916 when Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka started to make ukuleles and guitars in the basement workshop of his Honolulu home. It is usually a concert-sized ukulele. As a brand, Oscar Schmidt (a.k.a. Kala's incredibly rich catalog is sure to provide you with literally anything you need. Playing a ukulele is beneficial for people of all ages from kids to seniors. It typically has 12-15 frets and a standard tuning of GCEA. If you keep these things in mind, you should be able to tell if your ukulele is of good quality. One thing is clear. Body: Consists of the top (sometimes called the sound board), back, and sides. We usually recommend Oscar Schmidt ukuleles to intermediate and above musicians - only they can take advantage of these top-notch instruments! The distinct sound of the ukulele makes it a popular choice for learning popular songs such as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "I'm Yours". Pioneers of the "best imported ukuleles in Hawaii", they are known for providing quality instruments at affordable prices. If you think about it for a second, you will realize that the ukulele players do not take care that much of the brand image. Soprano ukuleles are the smallest of the three ukulele sizes. The KA-15S soprano ukulele is one of the most popular ukuleles in the world. But it is All Solid Wood!?? Thanks to slower tempos, compelling lyrics, and familiar tunes that lots of people know and love, country songs are ideal for playing on your ukulele. Bone Nut and Saddle! Shop Martin Ukulele. With this increase in size also comes an additional alternative tuning. Rosewood is usually seen in the most sought-after ukuleles. The material is either solid or laminated. Kamaka. You often find this bundled as a 'beginner's set' with other ukulele accessories. Aloha, and happy strumming! Since their inception, they have solely focused on perfecting their craft as uke makers. Image credit: Kala. Bridge: Mounts on the ukelele's top and holds the saddle. Get started with our pick of 8 of the best ukes from Mahalo, Martin and Cordoba, plus a cool Fender Jazzmaster ukulele Included in this guide: 1 Mahalo MR1 Soprano Ukulele Check Price 2 Cordoba 15CM Concert Ukulele Check Price 3 Martin S1 Soprano Ukulele Check Price 4 Fender Fullerton Jazzmaster Ukulele Check Price 5 Lanikai 5. It's one of the high-density woods you'll ever come across in the uke family. So handling a ukulele would be significantly easier than handling larger instruments. Here we will describe all these important parts. Of course, the building wood choice is often very important for crafting either a crisp, warm and completely full sound. Small and Easy To Handle The most popular type of ukulele is the soprano which is only 21 inches long. Oh well. A good quality ukulele will have a nice finish and be free of any blemishes or irregularities. Its playability, sound, tone, and craftsmanship are like big-budget instruments. Some sound holes have a decorative rosette. Sopranos are the smallest ukuleles and are the best ukulele for beginners. Washburn) creates a high-end ukulele that we personally consider to be among the best mass-produced popular ukulele options. For me it is when you open up the case, hold the instrument in your hand for the very first time and think: Yes, this is how it should be! Using the fingernail or the flesh of your picking finger. Every player has a little bit different sound and chases different ideals. Best Bundle Package: Enya EUC-X1. What makes it special is the character.