Ukulele Buying Guide for Beginners

The ukulele may be the friendliest instrument there is. It has four soft strings, a body you can tuck under one arm and chords you can learn in an afternoon. Here is how to pick your first one.

The four sizes

• Soprano. The smallest and the classic bright ukulele sound. Great for kids and travel.
• Concert. A little bigger with more room between frets.
• Tenor. Bigger again with a fuller sound, popular with performers.
• Baritone. The largest, tuned lower like the top four strings of a guitar.

Start with a soprano

The soprano is the traditional first ukulele. It is light, affordable and has the cheerful sound people expect.

Standard tuning

Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles are tuned G C E A. The G string is usually tuned high, which gives the ukulele its bright, close harmony sound. A clip on or pedal tuner makes this quick. See how to tune for the basics, which apply to ukulele as well.

Starter kits

A starter kit bundles the ukulele with the extras a beginner needs, so there is nothing else to buy on day one. The Kala Learn to Play starter kit is built around that idea.

What is a guitalele

A guitalele is a six string instrument the size of a ukulele. It is tuned like a guitar with a capo on the fifth fret, so guitar chord shapes work on it. The Yamaha GL1 guitalele is a fun travel instrument for guitarists and a small first guitar for kids.

From ukulele to guitar

Many players start on ukulele and move to guitar later. The rhythm and many chord shapes carry over. When that day comes, read guitars for kids by age and size or how to choose your first acoustic guitar.

Browse all ukuleles. Questions? Call the shop at (423) 462-1894 and a real person will help you choose.