Ukulele Sizes
There are many different ukulele sizes, the four most common being the soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. Unlike fractional sized guitars, the ukulele sizes are not made to grow with the size of the player.
Soprano Ukulele
Each ukulele size also has a distinct tone. Soprano ukuleles have a shallower tone – this is the tone that typically comes to mind when thinking about how a ukulele sounds. They are the most popular size, partially due to its inexpensive price point and portability. It is the most accessible size, as most of the open chords are played in first position, within the first five frets. Most soprano ukuleles have twelve frets with just under a two-octave range.
Tenor Ukulele
Tenor ukuleles have a much deeper and fuller sound, due to the larger body size and longer strings, while concert ukuleles fall in the middle on tonal character. These larger sizes typically have fifteen to twenty frets, along with more space on the fretboard for more advanced chords. The tenor ukulele happens to be the preferred ukulele size among stage performers, as it has the most space between frets, highest number of playable notes, and fullest dynamic range.
Concert Ukulele
If you are looking for something in between, the concert ukulele is a great mix of traits from both the tenor and soprano sizes. It may be the most comfortable fretboard size for larger hands. All three of these ukuleles have the same tuning (g’-c’-e’-a’).
Baritone Ukuleles
Baritone ukuleles, however, are tuned identically to the top four strings of the standard six-string guitar (d’-g’-b’-e’), making it a great option for beginner guitar players. There are fewer strings with the ability to use the same chord shapes, minus the bottom two strings.
