Alex, you make some incredible points here and I think you are spot on. The main thing to me is that when people think 'ukulele' today they are thinking of more modern artists and the sound associated with them is that of a tenor. As you say, I'm soprano though and through, but I honestly talk many of my students out of buying soprano. We are certainly a niche and if that soprano sound isn't the sound in your head, as I think it isn't for most people, it's not going to make the instrument as fun to play as something to gets you closer what you want to hear. Another point I think that is important is the popularity of Low G in a lot of modern music and the longer scale length of tenor certainly makes that easier. I've only heard one Low G soprano I liked and let me tell you that is was about 5x out of my price range 😂. On the guitar side I play a 12 fret parlor guitar and despise the sound of a dreadnought which is think is a similar distinction to this discussion in the ukulele world. Different tools for different jobs and everyone needs to figure out what suits them best.
Thanks for taking the time to weigh in! On the plus side, Soprano purists like yourself are able to stand out by not playing a Tenor and inspiring people on the ukuleles in a completely different way 🙂
The only thing I don't like about this trend is the number of people that denigrate soprano ukes. Particularly the idea that as you get better you will inevitably move to concert and then tenor scale instruments. Would anyone tell a violin player that they should save their money and move to the viola or cello right now? Of course not. Every instrument and every musician has a valid voice and valid roll in the music. For myself, I don't feel any lack in my soprano uke. But, that's just me. If the greater resonance or sustain of a tenor is what speaks to you then you should play the heck out of it. Just don't use your joy as an excuse to try and take mine away. We call what we do 'playing' for a reason. It's supposed to all be fun.
I don’t think I have too much to say in this conversation because I got into playing the uke in 2011 and then involved with the scene properly in 2016. I’ll share my thoughts and experiences though in the spirit of sharing My first uke was a soprano for 20 quid, I picked it because it was the same concept of chord shapes and strumming as with guitar. It wasn’t until I was in my schools ukulele group and later my local club that I learned about concerts and tenors. Initially I collected them and that was how I got acquainted with the scale lengths, I always gravitated towards tenors as they felt most guitar-like as a guitarist first. From around 2014-2016 my emphasis was on nice pickups, regardless of the scale so I had concerts for that period and they had really nice active systems (before Misi started to take off). When I restarted my solo career in 2016 I played low G, and I always found tenor to cope with that tension a lot better, hence my purchase of a high end tenor in early 2017 after my months of gigging with my “piece of crap concert uke”. Since then I haven’t really looked back, the tension of tenors works against me in a satisfying way, and supports low G for my style. I of course have other scales, but I very seldom gig with them
I was set on getting a concert for my first uke but watched a Lahaina Music video in which Jason Jerome explained how one should choose the type of uke that best fits their body. When I went back to the store, I discovered that the tenor fit my body a lot better than the concert, judging by where the crook of my elbow hit and where my fingertips naturally fell (on the fretboard rather than the sound hole). It made so much sense.
An interesting discussion. I started with a soprano, now have three, including one concert neck soprano, then a tenor, followed by a concert and lastly a baritone. Frankly I like having all four sizes for their sound differences and playing challenges (going from a soprano to a baritone is like being transported from my bedroom to a soccer field!). But I could not separate myself from sopranos. My first and favourite.
I started with a tenor as my first uke because I have ridiculously long fingers- I used to play my dads Ukes and always favoured his tenor because of this!
I think you’re right - Jake was so huge, and all the others, too. There are classical players who stick with sopranos, but even Sam Muir now owns a Tiny Tenor. The longer scale allows for more scope, more notes, and also a fuller sound. Which some of the folks who are doing early music don’t want. They want it to sound totally different from a guitar. But some like the expansion. I do. I play a concert hi G and a Tiny Tenor lo G, by the way. And I’m pretty much a beginner classical style player.
Excellent discussion! I gravitated towards the tenor Uke because I came from the classical guitar side but had to quit after developing arthritis in my thumb which really made it hard to barre chords. Someone suggested moving over to the Uke and the tenor and baritone Ukes were the closest in sound to the classical guitar especially depending on what strings I used. Now the tenor is all I play. I do have a concert that I save for pieces where I need to stretch a bit more but I prefer my tenors for the most part.
I'm new-ish to the ukulele but having started with a concert I was soon attracted to the tenor - seems to me a fuller, rounded, mellow sound. Got my tenor with a low G string from SUS and I love it!!
Hello Alex This is my first comment to you. I have been following you over the last three months both on your own channel and the sus-channel and you have given me tons of info, lots of great ukulele tunes to enjoy and loads to think about. Thanks for all of your wonderful vids. Now my respose to this video. I think it is very interesting what you say about the rise of the tenor. I live in the south of Germany where the ukulele revolution is just about happening and if you go to the normal music stores, then you will find mainly concerts and not tenors. It is different with the internet stores, though. So i think Germany is about 5 years behind Britain. Funny isn't it.
Oh for sure! But the main land US is exactly the same... general music shops stock may be a skewed reflection on what they actually sell. Germany is a funny one anyway because ortega is much more prominent than here in the UK. Thanks for watching, I appreciate you commenting.
I think some of it is changing repertoire. When the ukulele was primarily focused on Tin Pan Alley and George Formby was bigger than Elvis, soprano was THE standard. Literally. It's still referred to as "standard size" in many quarters. When players that you mention including James, Jake, and Aldrine showed what could be done with more contemporary pop on tenor ukes, everything changed. I still love how sopranos look and sound, and even with comically large hands, I'm comfortable doing plenty of picking. What's changing for me, though, is wanting more volume and clarity up the neck, so I'm just now starting to think about a tenor. I still haven't held one though, so that's next on the agenda! But I think this is also what's driven the move to low G - translating music originally composed for guitar, rather than with ukulele in mind as had been the case for Tin Pan Alley. Even with tenor, though, I'm only interested in high G, and I know that Jake and I are far from alone in that. :-)
Super, super interesting! I started my ukulele journey back in March 2011 and have been heavily involved ever since. Now, I only watched the first minutes of your talk so far, Alex, but will delve explicitly into it later tönight.
Those you played are beautiful. When I started violin/fiddle as an adult, my teacher said, "It's just a sound box". Maybe to take the OMG it's a violin intimidation factor and give perspective. But what can be done with those sound boxes and the different woods with ukes, it seems endless, then the further effects of different sizes of those "sound boxes". I bought a tenor because I found it easier to finger than the soprano and concert. I felt my fingers were too squished together on the smaller sizes. My hands are average size. I just found the tenor more comfortable to play.
I bought a secondhand tenor a couple of weeks ago for a specific purpose: to string it with low 1st and 4th strings and tune it to Bb so that I could get closer to the later sound of Cliff Edwards’ playing (or at least the closest I could hope for someone without even a tenth of Edwards’ ability), when he moved from the Martin soprano to the Martin tenor and shifted to a more crooning song style. So far I’ve found suitable strings to manage it in C tuning, but even there it captures some of that wonderful tone. It’s a bit of a stretch at times for a soprano player, but hugely enjoyable to play. Yet if it wasn’t for wanting that particular sound I’d stick entirely with the soprano. I wonder if a change in the sort of music people want to play has had an effect, along with the rise of more prominent players who favour tenor that you mentioned. The ukulele as a rhythmic instrument, the main thrust of the soprano, seems less popular now and there’s an expectation of what I think of as more guitar-friendly being played, which does suit the tenor’s greater sustain. In the end it could be a fashion, like slotted headstocks and spalted woods, and in a few years we’ll be looking back and wondering when the baritone became the norm.
i have my late fathers pono tenor ukuelele he got around 2014-2015. its a beauty and played like a dream. its even signed by mr jake shimabukuro himself!
Beautiful! I love all sizes of uke and cannot choose which is the best. They all have their voices. The baritone may be a slight favorite because I came from guitar, but just by a nose.
What a great video with lots of interesting facts and information that is completely new to me. I am a little late to the party. I started down a path to a music journey towards the end of November 2022 so just over 2 months ago, and it started with learning the piano which I always wanted to learn. I still play and practice on it, but something about it not being portable and being unable to play it on the go made me want to take a look at the guitar which I was never interested in previously. So I started learning online with that. It was not as easy to pickup as the piano was for me, but I was enjoying the journey. Then about 2 weeks ago while looking on RUclips for renditions of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, for singing and playing it on guitar, I stumbled on a few artists playing it effortlessly and beautifully on Ukulele. That led me down the rabbit hole of endless amazing Uke players performing who blew my mind and changed it showing me what a Ukulele sound can be and it's capabilities as a real guitar alternative with tons of advantages without any disadvantages. It seemed that the Ukulele could do everything a guitar could do but at a much more compact easy to travel size while being more comfortable to play, only needing to learn 4 strings as opposed to 6 and so much more fun to boot. I don't regret for a second switching over to the Ukulele as my main musical instrument of choice going forward. When I first started researching the Ukulele I didn't have a clue which of the 4 sizes of Uke were the most popular, To be honest until your video, I automatically assumed it was the Concert. But I chose the Tenor size as my first Uke, based on my personal preferences, as to me it sounded louder, more bass, and had more room to play on, on the fingerboard. It sounded less like an traditional island instrument and more like a classical guitar. I have fat short fingers that constantly hit other strings, so I need all the help I can get as a beginner. I figured I could graduate to the concert when I got better, as like I said I thought that the concert was the normal size for most players. I have a second tenor and my first concert Ukulele, both with low G linear strings installed, ordered and being delivered later this week. Thank you again for this informative and excellent video. I have just subscribed to your channel. I look forward to all your videos on the Ukulele. By the way you play just beautifully, thank you for that soothing and relaxing outro.
Brilliant and interesting video. I've just found your website via The Southern Ukulele store where I bought my first Snail Concert uke a few years back. Recently, I've been looking at getting a tenor so this is a very timely found video. Thanks
Great topic!! I can say from personal experience, I’ve always used a tenor ‘ukulele. My First custom Kanile’a Super Tenor Pea Li’i from 2006 to my newest signature Kanile’a ‘ukulele and all the ones I played prior since grade school growing up on O’ahu ;) The one I was first exposed to was my grandmother’s 1960s concert Kamaka ‘ukulele which I now own. The interesting thing is that the “Hawaiian” sound of ‘ukulele on recordings by artists like Aunty Genoa Keawe, Linda Delacruz, and similar was always soprano in the context of a trio with guitar, bass and uke. I think the the tenor popularity, at least in Hawai’i, happened when groups like Kapena (Kelly Boy Delima), Ka’au Crater Boys (Troy Fernandez), Makaha Sons of Ni’ihau (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) and Pure Heart (Jake Shimabukuro) became popular in the late 80s/early 90s. I could go on for hours…lol…Awesome content!
This is a really interesting discussion. I love my DJ Morgan long neck sopranos (I have 3 of them!). I also have a couple of tenors. A 5-string DJ Morgan tenor(2015) with octave 4th course which sounds great for some early music and folk. But I also love this instrument for some contemporary repertoire. As someone noted I've recently been playing a Romero Creations Tiny Tenor (high g tuning). This is a great instrument for recording but I played it last night in a concert in a church and the projection was slightly disappointing. Sopranos would seem to suffer, unfortunately, from the stigma of being a toy. I composed a piece called The Falling Rain which, I think, demonstrates the soprano is perfectly capable of handling complex repertoire. And, of course, John King's arrangements of Bach are sublime on the soprano! So, overall soprano is my first choice. Of course Jake is a huge influence and that's a great point. But what about the simple fact that tenors are, generally, speaking more expensive to buy and therefore more lucrative to sell? Does marketing have an impact? In regard to size from a historical perspective: if you have The 'Ukulele, A History by Tranquada and King (a wonderful book!!!) then have a look at the photo on the front cover. The two instruments are not ukuleles but the original taro-patch which was the Hawaiian name for the Madeiran rajão - an instrument slightly bigger than a concert and with 5 single strings. If you look very closely you'll see the 5th tuning peg has been removed so they are playing it as 4 string instrument tuned gCEA but bigger than a ukulele! I find it all very fascinating! I really think people should play whatever size they feel most comfortable with in terms of sound and feel. I would, however, really like to know what you all think about the trend of using low G tuning? This seems to me to be more of a guitar influence than the size of the instrument. Guitarists come from a linear world and arranging classical repertoire with re-entrant tuning often results in the music becoming 'grammatically incorrect'. So, low G solves that problem and makes notating easier. I must admit I enjoy the anomaly of high h as it is part of the ukulele's unique voice. Perhaps, it would be interesting to have a video on this Alex... I hope I didn't digress too much!
Not at all, I love to hear other people's thoughts. The only thing in your comment I picked up on is about the pricing which I feel is worth looking at further. Manufactures like Kala have evolved from offering models in all sizes to not offering Sopranos at all for many ranges because the demand is no longer there. On the flip side, they offer a ridiculous amount of entry level Sopranos so the change in trends further feeds the trend... until of course, people push back because they want something different. SUS did a Soprano exclusive Flight model this month and it sold out in one day because there is no choice in £300-600 Sopranos. What i think is due to happen is the Soprano having a mini resurgence this year and next and then the concert going through its phase as the outcast 😆
@@SamMuirUkulele mahogany lost some of its popularity and spruce/Cedar tops became more accepted. Mango was hated a decade ago, now its considered a viable Koa alternative
One thing I should add now that I've had my first email bashing from someone is that I quite like the sound of Sopranos even if I don't enjoy playing them myself. My favourite Soprano player was Ohta-San with his classical arrangements in low G. I swear half the people that email me and complain don't actually bother to watch the video because it's longer than an inst-reel.
I thought it was an interesting video. I am a soprano-only player (and Ohta-san fan!) and I have always thought of the growing dominance of the tenor as something driven by sound aesthetic. By comparison to a soprano, tenors sound saturated and full of sustain. This in addition to its spacious fretboard makes it a little more forgiving than a soprano typically is, which relies more on percussiveness and faster fingerstyle playing to really shine. Tenors make more sense but to me the soprano has an undeniable charm.
I had a smallish ukulele in the late 50's, probably a soprano, but who knows. It was the plastic toy kids were given. I don't remember much about it only that I had one. Fast forward to the 60's, enter a used Acoustic guitar , along with the Beatles. That changed everything. So what is this leading too. I think as a guitar player that has recently been reintroduced to the ukulele, the tenor feels better as a transition than a concert. That coupled with the tenor sounding more like the guitar, in terms of tone , it seems the logical choice. Im not including the baritone as it is not the standard ukulele tuning. Thanks for the review, as always. jeff
I think the fact that more & more guitar players discovered the ukulele for themselves and pushed into the scene seeing more of a chance there, plays a role in that the tenor size got so popular. Also the fact, that the market, the interest in that typical vintage ukulele style music, be it vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, trad. old school Hawaiian and there like, is down to a VERY small group of lovers within an already small niche. Then there is that phenomenon that quite a few pro classical players opt for the soprano. John King being a prime example. Also Samantha Muir, who only lately started to perform on tenor size. Matter of fact quite some time ago I approached her w\ the question why she thinks that the soprano size is the most widespread among classical players. Then there are players like Markus Rantanen (🇫🇮) who choose a particular size of instrument in correspondence to a specific music arrangement. That is what I do try as well. Hence I play all four sizes, actually five, counting in a Pixie Sopranino.
Just to clarify Marius: I think (and I may be wrong) that campanella style players find the soprano, or long neck soprano, an ideal size due to the large leaps and stretches.
As someone that came to the uke in 2014, I started with a concert bought from SUS and then bought a better one, also from SUS. Later I bought a soprano from SUS and found that I preferred the sound. I then bought a kamaka tenor from them and prefer playing both the soprano and tenor sizes from their different sounds and scales; sold both my concerts without regret. Like using low g on the tenor for jazz and blues, soprano for most other styles.
Very interesting. I just started in 2021, and haven’t yet settled to a favourite size (at the moment I reach for my long neck soprano for strumming and my tenor for fingerpicking). I didn’t know the popularity of the tenor was *that* recent. I like the idea of tracing it to virtuoso solo players. Thanks.
I bought my first ukulele about 3 months ago in one of the biggest music shop in my country (Poland) and I was looking for tenor specificaly. My surprise was big that they couldn't find anything fitting my expectations, which was "as much wooden as possible" one in the range of £200. They show me only two and couple of cheaper ones... the other ones was MUCH more expensive and I couldn't afford it. That's my experience with Tenor ukulele. So I wouldn't be so shure if they are equally popular everywhere. Thanks for your videos, they're pleasant to watch and plenty with interresting informations. If I were still live in the UK I would visit SUS gladly... Stay tuned 👍
My first influence was GUGUG channel (O gone are the days of old internet), so my first uke was concert. Then came the guitarlele, and after that, an ukulele bass.
I forgot to add that if I had to reduce my choices it would be down to two, a soprano and a tenor. The sound difference is dramatic, the size/playability transition easier than to a baritone and they both still sound like “ukuleles”.
I started with the Tenor, the day I bought my 1st uke and compared it with the concert that was sitting next to it, it just felt right. There were no sopranos in the building (Guitar Center), that was in 2013. And I think the reason today is; that over the years they've found the conclusion that (1) you can play old ukulele standards on the Tenor and still sound traditional most of the time and (2) that most players today play modern popular music on the Uke, the Ukulele is merging from is old nobility genre to a more modern one today, but some things still can only be played on a Soprano.
I have all 3 sizes, the Fender tenor I strung with low G D’adario flouro carbons. It has a lovely mellow sound which suits some of the uke club standards. However I cut my teeth on an entry level Soprano which I still have and play occasionally. My go to is a Kala concert and I guess it is the fact that it is closer (in my mind) to the ‘traditional uke sound’. And as tenors tend to dominate UK’s groups makes an interesting balance.
I think the trend you noticed in the UK might have started much earlier in Hawaii and RUclips facilitated us catching up in the era of Jake and Iz. Before that, the uke's USP was 'little' and something that sounded something like George Formby. Jake came in a straight line from Troy Fernandez, who came from Peter Moon (I think, from listening to Hawaii uke podcasts). I'm not sure who started it though, I think Lyle Ritz was tenor. For anyone who hasn't heard them those old players are really worth checking out
That would make sense for sure. There is definitely a gap in my knowledge and geographical experience between '93 and 2008. All I know from ordering Kanile'a and KoAloha at that 2009-2011 time is that the Japanese Market was huge and they wanted Sopranos. That makes sense when you consider the popularity of the Kiwaya ukes at that time until now.
Great video - great point for discussion. First tenor I ever saw was a £100 laminate Lanikai T21 in a Guitar shop in Tin Pan Alley about 9 years ago. Bought it straight off I played it now and again but not much - though I did quite like it. I recorded two things with it - an instrumental version of a favourite Hoagy Carmichael song (I'm I posted it on YT as 'The nearness Of Uke') and on my first duo album with mandolinist Kate Williams when we covered the great Sophie Madeleine song 'Take Your Love With Me' Look her song up if you don't know it!! Great song. But it was THAT Central Park video that really fired me up to take the instrument seriously. I play tenor because the people I like to listen to - Corey, Kalei, Brittni and Vanessa Ding pretty much gravitate towards the tenor... though of course play other scale lengths in their respective roles. Shortly after discovering Jake I discovered SUS - the rest is either history.... or of you are my bank manager.... tragedy! But it's tenors all the way for me!!
I started fairly recently, less than 2 years ago, with an inexpensive concert laminate. I went with that size because: I had difficulty playing my daughter’s soprano; it was slightly expensive than a tenor; and, at the time, there seemed to be a lot of concert size Ukes and people calling them the “Goldilocks” of ukuleles. (In the sense that the size was just right, not in the sense of a spoiled little brat that breaks into people’s houses and eats their food and sleeps in their beds.) After watching tons of videos, including many excellent videos by you and Phil), I splurged on one each of a soprano (KoAloha Opio) and tenor (Pono ATD) so I could try each of the sizes out. (This is not the time for the on-going debate about “mid-range” priced ukuleles, but both of these were and are great.) I was able to play the soprano size by this point and what I found is that each size worked better for different songs and styles. The tenor is strung Low-g, which is really needed for some songs. (Just try playing “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead on a high-g.) But personally, I still gravitate more to my concert and this is especially true after I was given a gift of a KoAloha Royal Pikake Concert (strung high-g) this year. Maybe it is just that is that much better than the others, but almost everything played on that uke sounds great. (Almost… remember “Ripple?”) Expensive uke aside, I gravitated to concert more because I find the size easiest to play for me, and I generally play without a strap. Also, it has, for me, the best blend of old-fashioned music sound like a soprano, but works great with more contemporary music as well. I keep saying “for me” because this is very much a matter of personal opinion. I do wish there were more players playing and recording with concert Ukes and I have noticed that the on-line stores seem to be getting more tenors in the “New Arrivals” space than any other size. I agree with Mr. Howlett’s comments that this trend will likely continue as long as people keep playing songs written for guitar, or written for ukulele but emulating a guitar sound. As for the history of the tenor ukulele, I wonder if the tenor guitar, which was popular for a period of time, made the development and use of a tenor ukulele unnecessary. You hardly ever hear about the tenor guitar today, supplanted by tenor and baritone Ukes.
I bought a saprano as a challenge to start with, because that is how it was supposed to sound back then. The dealer I bought it from told me a concert was cheating 😁. I think that was in 2006 or so. I still have it and enjoy it, but regret not getting a concert or a tenor somewhat. I just bought a tenor, and I'll probably get a concert or a concert long neck (or both) one day.
I began my ukulele building career building 6 and 8 string slotted headstock tenors for the Hawaiian market. In Hawaii, these instruments were the best selling tenor style because of the 'Hawaiian' marketing pysche and the Japanese tourist market (K brands still prioritise their sales orders to Asia). I sold in the 90's just 2 four string tenors to Hawaii. It changed from 6 and 8 to 4 string tenor preference because of a number of things - mainly young Hawaiians playing contemporary music styles from punk to jazz. Although Bro Iz and his band were playing Hawaiian 'pop' which is reggae influenced it had no impact and like many early dead legends, his death repopularised the interst in Tin Pan Ally greats. So I think his impact was initially only local - it's stuff which would be kindly called high quality elevator music. What Jake did is bring to the fore a style of contemporary playing that James Hill was speaerheading in a very narrrow niche. Mentored by the jazz Hawaiian master Ohta San these young players graduated from sopranos to tenors because of the increased range of the largeer instrumet 12 frets - 18 /19frets. Jake opened the doors for everyone else simply because he chose a very popular song by a very famous Beatle. I'm sure George would have been chuffed. However, let us not forget it took a further 8 years, the internet and relentless efforts by Jake and others to bring the 4 string tenor to the fore (or in the case of Taimane, arguably the most adventurous of the bunch, a 5 string tenor). I saw sales of 4 string tenors begin to pick up in 2010/12 and attribute this to the internet, popular mainstream musicians suddenly coming out of the closet with their ukulele and a whole bunch of new builders in Hawaii rekindling the traditons of their fore-fathers in a contwmporary way, waking up the compacent giant Kamaka. It's all levelling off now but sady, contemporary players are still playing 'karaoke' stuff with very little original work for ukulele being composed - Sam Muir and Richarsd Durrant being the exceptions here in the UK Taimane in Hawaii. And despite an early and quite strong affair with the ukulele, artists like Victoria Vox want to use the ukulele not to the fore but as part of an instrument line-up in their band and as a singer-songwriter's composing not performing tool. Then tenor is probably the most flexible of the ukulele family and is a great all-rounder. The 17" scale is pimped onto soporano and concert bodies to create hybrid isntruments with range which goes to the questions: how, what and why. Side Bar - UOGB's role has been to excite people abotu palying ukulele. They are not 'players' as such but are a cabaret act that uses ukulele as an ironic schtick. No-one has been doing it longer or better in the world and they represent the pinnacle of performance art using a niche idea. My take as someone who has been in this game for 28 years now...
Thanks for weighing in Pete... a lovely, detailed comment that tells a well weathered and experienced perspective that few have on this whole industry.
@@petehowlett3966 "speaerheaded" squeezed through the spellcheck 😉. Superb essay otherwise. That said, for me personally the effeck of Jake et al was not so much to popularize the 4-string tenor, but the uke in general.
I started on a Soprano, then a concert, then a Tenor. For me as I progressed the larger size made more complex techniques more accessible. It seems to be the right balance between being a Ukulele and allowing more advanced techniques to be more comfortable. This may be controversial and if you ever see a competent finger style acoustic guitarist it’s nothing short of magical… but your average guitar owner playing open chords on the guitar for me is just grating and twangy. The Tenor on the other hand especially with a low G and the right woods can provide a decent dynamic range but is more soothing. Also 😎 I found that owning a guitar and bringing it out people expect greatness haha however with a Uke the expectation is the other way around and people are often impressed with how you can make it sound (it’s less obnoxious).
Very interesting content. I love to hear how my recent adoption of the ukulele fits into the larger historical context. I think Iz had a huge impact on us all. Could you do a history of the baritone?
Absolutely... there is a fantastic article about the origins of the Baritone available on 'Ukulele' magazines website. Its my favourite size to talk about because its origins are not Hawaii/Portugal but instead two seperate companies in the 1940s/1950s in Boston and New York who had a similar idea at the same time. Both maintained it was their idea. How cool is that!
I love the sound of tenors the most but I have small hands. I'm currently playing a cheap saprano but want to upgrade and I'm torn because I'm worried my hands are too small
Tuned down a half step...oh so rich and mellow. I guess it was Jake that got me into tenors. Several have gone through my hands since then. Iz was the frosting on the cake.
Interesting video Alex, I think for me the perfect size is the Concert, but I gravitated to the tenors and baritones because I prefer the sound it produces plus I like to learn fingerstyle. I have always loved the sound of a guitar, albeit Tenors doesn't sound like one but some tenors can have sound characteristics of one. I've not heard a concert to produce similar, if you have a recommendation I'd love to know it! 😄
In my opinion, the longer scale of tenor size gives more space to put fingers especially in higher position.That makes playing complicated pieces easier. So we can see many professional performer use this size.
Alex, I don't "dive head first into the ukulele world" : I have sunk to the uke sea long ago with no hope of getting ashore again. 😂😂 This said, this was an incredibly interesting video again. Thank you Uke Captain and Master Diver ! Concerts have my fav up to now, but digging the baritone, lol. I hardly ever play my superb Pono ProClassic tenor, go figure !...
Walk Off The Earth got me interested in uke and I think they’ve mostly used tenors since they started making RUclips videos in 2011. It does seem to be the professional’s go-to size, tho I didn’t realize it’s a relatively recent trend.
I graduated from guitar and a low g tenor is more like a guitar. As soon as I picked up a kala arch top f hole sunburst there was no going back. I've got a handmade oil can uke now which is my favourite. I swop between tenor and baritone.
I like the fuller sound of the tenor but when it comes to playing I actually feel much more comfortable on the concert size. Getting better after starting a year ago and now sure, that I’ll stick with it, I now have to decide between getting the ANueNue AMM3 or the AMM2. I’ve been trying to decide for months now😂
I startet with the concert, because I also play a timple canario with nearly same Mensur. Fortunately I have the ANUENUE Akk2 and the sound is full like a tenor. (Have a look in our video) And we are two Ukuleles so it swings beautiful.
What is the first brand of tenor you play at the end with the beautiful flower inlays? It looks like the name starts with an S on the headstock. Love the sound!
I play uke for leisure (beginner skills). Here’s what i’ve learned: Some people consider sops & concerts are considered a ‘toy size’, “too small”(even when they acknowledge that soprano is THE traditional/standard size of uke). Physical-wise, tenor size is ‘just nice’ for some ppl including mature players or ppl with physical challenges. People who play the uke would want a “ukulele sound”-hence although baritone sounds lovely, it still sounds guitarish due to the DGBE strings. But soprano & concert are ‘too small’ and so tenor hits just right.
I started with a tenor after hearing riptide when it first came out, and Vance Joy played with a tenor, so that’s what I got. Then I found Jake Shimakuro and that was that.
To me, the effect of the big-name players you mention was to propel the interest in ukes in general, not tenors in particular. The trend to tenors is, I feel, partly market-driven (bigger profit margins in the more expensive tenors) and partly driven by people wanting to get a guitar-like sound with an easier instrument to play. I expect baritones to take off for those reasons.
Great video, thanks for the thorough research. Just wondering, sometimes I read that tenor ukulele's are tuned an octave lower than the soprano, mostly I read it's the same, then again I read but with the lower G string. Any thoughts on this? I just happen to have bought a tenor ukulele and I don't even know how to tune it now!
Tenor ukes are never tuned an octave lower, there aren't strings to even support thst. Typically people are talking about the G string being an octave lower 🙂 hope that helps?
@@UkesWithAlex, gosh, thanks, Alex. Yes, that confirms what I feared. So there is no difference really with a soprano uke. Luckily the tenor I bought is beautiful and has a lovely sound, so no regrets, but a little bit baffled. As a layperson I fully expected the tenor to be lower than the soprano, otherwise what is the point of the name?
Back in the day the Soprano was actually tuned to ADF#B and the Tenor would be tuned either at GCEA or lower... the ukulele is very much an evolving instrument with most of these conventional and standardised things coming into play since the 1950s
@@UkesWithAlex Thanks Alex. Interesting to consider it's not my new tenor that is tuned too high, but the standard soprano used to be tuned even higher once upon a time?
I do not think the ukulele popularity will die down at all. It has earned a spot in the music world with the tenor. I do worry that almost all are made in China and they are sabre rattling over Taiwan. That stream might die due to chinese agression. I own 3, a Hilo soprano I bought years ago and a real cheapy, a all acacia Caramel concert and a butterfly bocote tenor with a pickup. I think its a solid but it could be laminate top but it was cheap to see if I like it. I will be buying a solid acacia tenor, most likely a Flight Mustang. I would love a plain Koa tenor but that is out of my price range. Learning and getting used to my fingers as they build the callous... owwwwww.... but happy LOL
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Alex, you make some incredible points here and I think you are spot on. The main thing to me is that when people think 'ukulele' today they are thinking of more modern artists and the sound associated with them is that of a tenor. As you say, I'm soprano though and through, but I honestly talk many of my students out of buying soprano. We are certainly a niche and if that soprano sound isn't the sound in your head, as I think it isn't for most people, it's not going to make the instrument as fun to play as something to gets you closer what you want to hear. Another point I think that is important is the popularity of Low G in a lot of modern music and the longer scale length of tenor certainly makes that easier. I've only heard one Low G soprano I liked and let me tell you that is was about 5x out of my price range 😂. On the guitar side I play a 12 fret parlor guitar and despise the sound of a dreadnought which is think is a similar distinction to this discussion in the ukulele world. Different tools for different jobs and everyone needs to figure out what suits them best.
Thanks for taking the time to weigh in!
On the plus side, Soprano purists like yourself are able to stand out by not playing a Tenor and inspiring people on the ukuleles in a completely different way 🙂
The only thing I don't like about this trend is the number of people that denigrate soprano ukes. Particularly the idea that as you get better you will inevitably move to concert and then tenor scale instruments. Would anyone tell a violin player that they should save their money and move to the viola or cello right now? Of course not. Every instrument and every musician has a valid voice and valid roll in the music.
For myself, I don't feel any lack in my soprano uke. But, that's just me. If the greater resonance or sustain of a tenor is what speaks to you then you should play the heck out of it. Just don't use your joy as an excuse to try and take mine away. We call what we do 'playing' for a reason. It's supposed to all be fun.
Well said... I don't play Sopranos in my own time but I definitely spend a lot of energy defending them in conversation 😆
That video of Jake playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps in Central Park is what got me into ukuleles! You nailed it in the video!
I don’t think I have too much to say in this conversation because I got into playing the uke in 2011 and then involved with the scene properly in 2016. I’ll share my thoughts and experiences though in the spirit of sharing
My first uke was a soprano for 20 quid, I picked it because it was the same concept of chord shapes and strumming as with guitar. It wasn’t until I was in my schools ukulele group and later my local club that I learned about concerts and tenors. Initially I collected them and that was how I got acquainted with the scale lengths, I always gravitated towards tenors as they felt most guitar-like as a guitarist first. From around 2014-2016 my emphasis was on nice pickups, regardless of the scale so I had concerts for that period and they had really nice active systems (before Misi started to take off).
When I restarted my solo career in 2016 I played low G, and I always found tenor to cope with that tension a lot better, hence my purchase of a high end tenor in early 2017 after my months of gigging with my “piece of crap concert uke”.
Since then I haven’t really looked back, the tension of tenors works against me in a satisfying way, and supports low G for my style. I of course have other scales, but I very seldom gig with them
I was set on getting a concert for my first uke but watched a Lahaina Music video in which Jason Jerome explained how one should choose the type of uke that best fits their body. When I went back to the store, I discovered that the tenor fit my body a lot better than the concert, judging by where the crook of my elbow hit and where my fingertips naturally fell (on the fretboard rather than the sound hole). It made so much sense.
BEAUTIFUL! 10:22 December 11, 2024. Just started playing! Played guitar for years- some knuckles a little gimped now!!
Great to hear your thoughts on this Alex, really insightful. Thanks
An interesting discussion. I started with a soprano, now have three, including one concert neck soprano, then a tenor, followed by a concert and lastly a baritone. Frankly I like having all four sizes for their sound differences and playing challenges (going from a soprano to a baritone is like being transported from my bedroom to a soccer field!). But I could not separate myself from sopranos. My first and favourite.
I started with a tenor as my first uke because I have ridiculously long fingers- I used to play my dads Ukes and always favoured his tenor because of this!
I think you’re right - Jake was so huge, and all the others, too. There are classical players who stick with sopranos, but even Sam Muir now owns a Tiny Tenor. The longer scale allows for more scope, more notes, and also a fuller sound. Which some of the folks who are doing early music don’t want. They want it to sound totally different from a guitar. But some like the expansion. I do. I play a concert hi G and a Tiny Tenor lo G, by the way. And I’m pretty much a beginner classical style player.
Excellent discussion! I gravitated towards the tenor Uke because I came from the classical guitar side but had to quit after developing arthritis in my thumb which really made it hard to barre chords. Someone suggested moving over to the Uke and the tenor and baritone Ukes were the closest in sound to the classical guitar especially depending on what strings I used. Now the tenor is all I play. I do have a concert that I save for pieces where I need to stretch a bit more but I prefer my tenors for the most part.
I'm new-ish to the ukulele but having started with a concert I was soon attracted to the tenor - seems to me a fuller, rounded, mellow sound. Got my tenor with a low G string from SUS and I love it!!
Ukulele orchestra of GB got me started and all the great players you have mentioned.
Hello Alex
This is my first comment to you. I have been following you over the last three months both on your own channel and the sus-channel and you have given me tons of info, lots of great ukulele tunes to enjoy and loads to think about. Thanks for all of your wonderful vids. Now my respose to this video. I think it is very interesting what you say about the rise of the tenor. I live in the south of Germany where the ukulele revolution is just about happening and if you go to the normal music stores, then you will find mainly concerts and not tenors. It is different with the internet stores, though. So i think Germany is about 5 years behind Britain. Funny isn't it.
Oh for sure! But the main land US is exactly the same... general music shops stock may be a skewed reflection on what they actually sell. Germany is a funny one anyway because ortega is much more prominent than here in the UK.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate you commenting.
I think some of it is changing repertoire. When the ukulele was primarily focused on Tin Pan Alley and George Formby was bigger than Elvis, soprano was THE standard. Literally. It's still referred to as "standard size" in many quarters. When players that you mention including James, Jake, and Aldrine showed what could be done with more contemporary pop on tenor ukes, everything changed. I still love how sopranos look and sound, and even with comically large hands, I'm comfortable doing plenty of picking. What's changing for me, though, is wanting more volume and clarity up the neck, so I'm just now starting to think about a tenor. I still haven't held one though, so that's next on the agenda! But I think this is also what's driven the move to low G - translating music originally composed for guitar, rather than with ukulele in mind as had been the case for Tin Pan Alley. Even with tenor, though, I'm only interested in high G, and I know that Jake and I are far from alone in that. :-)
Super, super interesting! I started my ukulele journey back in March 2011 and have been heavily involved ever since. Now, I only watched the first minutes of your talk so far, Alex, but will delve explicitly into it later tönight.
Those you played are beautiful. When I started violin/fiddle as an adult, my teacher said, "It's just a sound box". Maybe to take the OMG it's a violin intimidation factor and give perspective. But what can be done with those sound boxes and the different woods with ukes, it seems endless, then the further effects of different sizes of those "sound boxes".
I bought a tenor because I found it easier to finger than the soprano and concert. I felt my fingers were too squished together on the smaller sizes. My hands are average size. I just found the tenor more comfortable to play.
I bought a secondhand tenor a couple of weeks ago for a specific purpose: to string it with low 1st and 4th strings and tune it to Bb so that I could get closer to the later sound of Cliff Edwards’ playing (or at least the closest I could hope for someone without even a tenth of Edwards’ ability), when he moved from the Martin soprano to the Martin tenor and shifted to a more crooning song style. So far I’ve found suitable strings to manage it in C tuning, but even there it captures some of that wonderful tone. It’s a bit of a stretch at times for a soprano player, but hugely enjoyable to play. Yet if it wasn’t for wanting that particular sound I’d stick entirely with the soprano.
I wonder if a change in the sort of music people want to play has had an effect, along with the rise of more prominent players who favour tenor that you mentioned. The ukulele as a rhythmic instrument, the main thrust of the soprano, seems less popular now and there’s an expectation of what I think of as more guitar-friendly being played, which does suit the tenor’s greater sustain. In the end it could be a fashion, like slotted headstocks and spalted woods, and in a few years we’ll be looking back and wondering when the baritone became the norm.
i have my late fathers pono tenor ukuelele he got around 2014-2015. its a beauty and played like a dream. its even signed by mr jake shimabukuro himself!
Beautiful! I love all sizes of uke and cannot choose which is the best. They all have their voices. The baritone may be a slight favorite because I came from guitar, but just by a nose.
Interesting history...lovely outro on those fabulously sounding ukes. Soulful playing! 👍
What a great video with lots of interesting facts and information that is completely new to me. I am a little late to the party. I started down a path to a music journey towards the end of November 2022 so just over 2 months ago, and it started with learning the piano which I always wanted to learn. I still play and practice on it, but something about it not being portable and being unable to play it on the go made me want to take a look at the guitar which I was never interested in previously. So I started learning online with that. It was not as easy to pickup as the piano was for me, but I was enjoying the journey.
Then about 2 weeks ago while looking on RUclips for renditions of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, for singing and playing it on guitar, I stumbled on a few artists playing it effortlessly and beautifully on Ukulele. That led me down the rabbit hole of endless amazing Uke players performing who blew my mind and changed it showing me what a Ukulele sound can be and it's capabilities as a real guitar alternative with tons of advantages without any disadvantages. It seemed that the Ukulele could do everything a guitar could do but at a much more compact easy to travel size while being more comfortable to play, only needing to learn 4 strings as opposed to 6 and so much more fun to boot. I don't regret for a second switching over to the Ukulele as my main musical instrument of choice going forward.
When I first started researching the Ukulele I didn't have a clue which of the 4 sizes of Uke were the most popular, To be honest until your video, I automatically assumed it was the Concert. But I chose the Tenor size as my first Uke, based on my personal preferences, as to me it sounded louder, more bass, and had more room to play on, on the fingerboard. It sounded less like an traditional island instrument and more like a classical guitar. I have fat short fingers that constantly hit other strings, so I need all the help I can get as a beginner. I figured I could graduate to the concert when I got better, as like I said I thought that the concert was the normal size for most players.
I have a second tenor and my first concert Ukulele, both with low G linear strings installed, ordered and being delivered later this week. Thank you again for this informative and excellent video. I have just subscribed to your channel. I look forward to all your videos on the Ukulele. By the way you play just beautifully, thank you for that soothing and relaxing outro.
My very first uke was a vintage Kamaka tenor, solid koa which i purchased in 2008 from Hawaii. I may have watched Jake play which inspired me.
What a very interesting video, thank you Alex…. I am totally in love with the Kanile’a tenor, so beautiful… one day!
Brilliant and interesting video. I've just found your website via The Southern Ukulele store where I bought my first Snail Concert uke a few years back. Recently, I've been looking at getting a tenor so this is a very timely found video. Thanks
Great topic!! I can say from personal experience, I’ve always used a tenor ‘ukulele. My First custom Kanile’a Super Tenor Pea Li’i from 2006 to my newest signature Kanile’a ‘ukulele and all the ones I played prior since grade school growing up on O’ahu ;) The one I was first exposed to was my grandmother’s 1960s concert Kamaka ‘ukulele which I now own. The interesting thing is that the “Hawaiian” sound of ‘ukulele on recordings by artists like Aunty Genoa Keawe, Linda Delacruz, and similar was always soprano in the context of a trio with guitar, bass and uke. I think the the tenor popularity, at least in Hawai’i, happened when groups like Kapena (Kelly Boy Delima), Ka’au Crater Boys (Troy Fernandez), Makaha Sons of Ni’ihau (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) and Pure Heart (Jake Shimabukuro) became popular in the late 80s/early 90s. I could go on for hours…lol…Awesome content!
I love your insight into this ❤️ thank you for sharing.
Thank you Alex for sharing this. 😊
This is a really interesting discussion. I love my DJ Morgan long neck sopranos (I have 3 of them!). I also have a couple of tenors. A 5-string DJ Morgan tenor(2015) with octave 4th course which sounds great for some early music and folk. But I also love this instrument for some contemporary repertoire. As someone noted I've recently been playing a Romero Creations Tiny Tenor (high g tuning). This is a great instrument for recording but I played it last night in a concert in a church and the projection was slightly disappointing.
Sopranos would seem to suffer, unfortunately, from the stigma of being a toy. I composed a piece called The Falling Rain which, I think, demonstrates the soprano is perfectly capable of handling complex repertoire. And, of course, John King's arrangements of Bach are sublime on the soprano! So, overall soprano is my first choice.
Of course Jake is a huge influence and that's a great point. But what about the simple fact that tenors are, generally, speaking more expensive to buy and therefore more lucrative to sell? Does marketing have an impact?
In regard to size from a historical perspective: if you have The 'Ukulele, A History by Tranquada and King (a wonderful book!!!) then have a look at the photo on the front cover. The two instruments are not ukuleles but the original taro-patch which was the Hawaiian name for the Madeiran rajão - an instrument slightly bigger than a concert and with 5 single strings. If you look very closely you'll see the 5th tuning peg has been removed so they are playing it as 4 string instrument tuned gCEA but bigger than a ukulele! I find it all very fascinating!
I really think people should play whatever size they feel most comfortable with in terms of sound and feel. I would, however, really like to know what you all think about the trend of using low G tuning? This seems to me to be more of a guitar influence than the size of the instrument. Guitarists come from a linear world and arranging classical repertoire with re-entrant tuning often results in the music becoming 'grammatically incorrect'. So, low G solves that problem and makes notating easier. I must admit I enjoy the anomaly of high h as it is part of the ukulele's unique voice. Perhaps, it would be interesting to have a video on this Alex... I hope I didn't digress too much!
Not at all, I love to hear other people's thoughts.
The only thing in your comment I picked up on is about the pricing which I feel is worth looking at further. Manufactures like Kala have evolved from offering models in all sizes to not offering Sopranos at all for many ranges because the demand is no longer there. On the flip side, they offer a ridiculous amount of entry level Sopranos so the change in trends further feeds the trend... until of course, people push back because they want something different. SUS did a Soprano exclusive Flight model this month and it sold out in one day because there is no choice in £300-600 Sopranos. What i think is due to happen is the Soprano having a mini resurgence this year and next and then the concert going through its phase as the outcast 😆
@@UkesWithAlex Interesting! What about trends in woods?
@@SamMuirUkulele mahogany lost some of its popularity and spruce/Cedar tops became more accepted. Mango was hated a decade ago, now its considered a viable Koa alternative
One thing I should add now that I've had my first email bashing from someone is that I quite like the sound of Sopranos even if I don't enjoy playing them myself. My favourite Soprano player was Ohta-San with his classical arrangements in low G.
I swear half the people that email me and complain don't actually bother to watch the video because it's longer than an inst-reel.
I thought it was an interesting video. I am a soprano-only player (and Ohta-san fan!) and I have always thought of the growing dominance of the tenor as something driven by sound aesthetic. By comparison to a soprano, tenors sound saturated and full of sustain. This in addition to its spacious fretboard makes it a little more forgiving than a soprano typically is, which relies more on percussiveness and faster fingerstyle playing to really shine. Tenors make more sense but to me the soprano has an undeniable charm.
@@duckyi1486 absolutely
I had a smallish ukulele in the late 50's, probably a soprano, but who knows. It was the plastic toy kids were given. I don't remember much about it only that I had one. Fast forward to the 60's, enter a used Acoustic guitar , along with the Beatles. That changed everything. So what is this leading too. I think as a guitar player that has recently been reintroduced to the ukulele, the tenor feels better as a transition than a concert. That coupled with the tenor sounding more like the guitar, in terms of tone , it seems the logical choice. Im not including the baritone as it is not the standard ukulele tuning. Thanks for the review, as always. jeff
I think the fact that more & more guitar players discovered the ukulele for themselves and pushed into the scene seeing more of a chance there, plays a role in that the tenor size got so popular. Also the fact, that the market, the interest in that typical vintage ukulele style music, be it vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, trad. old school Hawaiian and there like, is down to a VERY small group of lovers within an already small niche. Then there is that phenomenon that quite a few pro classical players opt for the soprano. John King being a prime example. Also Samantha Muir, who only lately started to perform on tenor size. Matter of fact quite some time ago I approached her w\ the question why she thinks that the soprano size is the most widespread among classical players. Then there are players like Markus Rantanen (🇫🇮) who choose a particular size of instrument in correspondence to a specific music arrangement. That is what I do try as well. Hence I play all four sizes, actually five, counting in a Pixie Sopranino.
Just to clarify Marius: I think (and I may be wrong) that campanella style players find the soprano, or long neck soprano, an ideal size due to the large leaps and stretches.
Thanks for weighing in Sam. You clearly have a lot of fans based on comments on my recent videos 🙂
As someone that came to the uke in 2014, I started with a concert bought from SUS and then bought a better one, also from SUS. Later I bought a soprano from SUS and found that I preferred the sound. I then bought a kamaka tenor from them and prefer playing both the soprano and tenor sizes from their different sounds and scales; sold both my concerts without regret. Like using low g on the tenor for jazz and blues, soprano for most other styles.
I had a cheap soprano but found it a bit too fiddly being used to guitars. I went on to get a very nice Pono tenor from yourselves and love it.
Troy Fernandez of Kaau Crater boys was my influence of noticing the tenor
Very interesting. I just started in 2021, and haven’t yet settled to a favourite size (at the moment I reach for my long neck soprano for strumming and my tenor for fingerpicking). I didn’t know the popularity of the tenor was *that* recent. I like the idea of tracing it to virtuoso solo players.
Thanks.
I bought my first ukulele about 3 months ago in one of the biggest music shop in my country (Poland) and I was looking for tenor specificaly. My surprise was big that they couldn't find anything fitting my expectations, which was "as much wooden as possible" one in the range of £200. They show me only two and couple of cheaper ones... the other ones was MUCH more expensive and I couldn't afford it.
That's my experience with Tenor ukulele. So I wouldn't be so shure if they are equally popular everywhere.
Thanks for your videos, they're pleasant to watch and plenty with interresting informations.
If I were still live in the UK I would visit SUS gladly...
Stay tuned 👍
My first influence was GUGUG channel (O gone are the days of old internet), so my first uke was concert. Then came the guitarlele, and after that, an ukulele bass.
I forgot to add that if I had to reduce my choices it would be down to two, a soprano and a tenor. The sound difference is dramatic, the size/playability transition easier than to a baritone and they both still sound like “ukuleles”.
Thanks, a very good video Alex.
I started with the Tenor, the day I bought my 1st uke and compared it with the concert that was sitting next to it, it just felt right. There were no sopranos in the building (Guitar Center), that was in 2013.
And I think the reason today is; that over the years they've found the conclusion that (1) you can play old ukulele standards on the Tenor and still sound traditional most of the time and (2) that most players today play modern popular music on the Uke, the Ukulele is merging from is old nobility genre to a more modern one today, but some things still can only be played on a Soprano.
I have all 3 sizes, the Fender tenor I strung with low G D’adario flouro carbons. It has a lovely mellow sound which suits some of the uke club standards. However I cut my teeth on an entry level Soprano which I still have and play occasionally. My go to is a Kala concert and I guess it is the fact that it is closer (in my mind) to the ‘traditional uke sound’. And as tenors tend to dominate UK’s groups makes an interesting balance.
Very interesting, thank you for your insight and information
I think the trend you noticed in the UK might have started much earlier in Hawaii and RUclips facilitated us catching up in the era of Jake and Iz. Before that, the uke's USP was 'little' and something that sounded something like George Formby. Jake came in a straight line from Troy Fernandez, who came from Peter Moon (I think, from listening to Hawaii uke podcasts). I'm not sure who started it though, I think Lyle Ritz was tenor. For anyone who hasn't heard them those old players are really worth checking out
That would make sense for sure. There is definitely a gap in my knowledge and geographical experience between '93 and 2008. All I know from ordering Kanile'a and KoAloha at that 2009-2011 time is that the Japanese Market was huge and they wanted Sopranos. That makes sense when you consider the popularity of the Kiwaya ukes at that time until now.
Great video - great point for discussion. First tenor I ever saw was a £100 laminate Lanikai T21 in a Guitar shop in Tin Pan Alley about 9 years ago. Bought it straight off I played it now and again but not much - though I did quite like it. I recorded two things with it - an instrumental version of a favourite Hoagy Carmichael song (I'm I posted it on YT as 'The nearness Of Uke') and on my first duo album with mandolinist Kate Williams when we covered the great Sophie Madeleine song 'Take Your Love With Me' Look her song up if you don't know it!! Great song.
But it was THAT Central Park video that really fired me up to take the instrument seriously. I play tenor because the people I like to listen to - Corey, Kalei, Brittni and Vanessa Ding pretty much gravitate towards the tenor... though of course play other scale lengths in their respective roles.
Shortly after discovering Jake I discovered SUS - the rest is either history.... or of you are my bank manager.... tragedy! But it's tenors all the way for me!!
I started fairly recently, less than 2 years ago, with an inexpensive concert laminate. I went with that size because: I had difficulty playing my daughter’s soprano; it was slightly expensive than a tenor; and, at the time, there seemed to be a lot of concert size Ukes and people calling them the “Goldilocks” of ukuleles. (In the sense that the size was just right, not in the sense of a spoiled little brat that breaks into people’s houses and eats their food and sleeps in their beds.)
After watching tons of videos, including many excellent videos by you and Phil), I splurged on one each of a soprano (KoAloha Opio) and tenor (Pono ATD) so I could try each of the sizes out. (This is not the time for the on-going debate about “mid-range” priced ukuleles, but both of these were and are great.) I was able to play the soprano size by this point and what I found is that each size worked better for different songs and styles. The tenor is strung Low-g, which is really needed for some songs. (Just try playing “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead on a high-g.) But personally, I still gravitate more to my concert and this is especially true after I was given a gift of a KoAloha Royal Pikake Concert (strung high-g) this year. Maybe it is just that is that much better than the others, but almost everything played on that uke sounds great. (Almost… remember “Ripple?”)
Expensive uke aside, I gravitated to concert more because I find the size easiest to play for me, and I generally play without a strap. Also, it has, for me, the best blend of old-fashioned music sound like a soprano, but works great with more contemporary music as well. I keep saying “for me” because this is very much a matter of personal opinion.
I do wish there were more players playing and recording with concert Ukes and I have noticed that the on-line stores seem to be getting more tenors in the “New Arrivals” space than any other size. I agree with Mr. Howlett’s comments that this trend will likely continue as long as people keep playing songs written for guitar, or written for ukulele but emulating a guitar sound.
As for the history of the tenor ukulele, I wonder if the tenor guitar, which was popular for a period of time, made the development and use of a tenor ukulele unnecessary. You hardly ever hear about the tenor guitar today, supplanted by tenor and baritone Ukes.
I bought a saprano as a challenge to start with, because that is how it was supposed to sound back then. The dealer I bought it from told me a concert was cheating 😁. I think that was in 2006 or so. I still have it and enjoy it, but regret not getting a concert or a tenor somewhat. I just bought a tenor, and I'll probably get a concert or a concert long neck (or both) one day.
I began my ukulele building career building 6 and 8 string slotted headstock tenors for the Hawaiian market. In Hawaii, these instruments were the best selling tenor style because of the 'Hawaiian' marketing pysche and the Japanese tourist market (K brands still prioritise their sales orders to Asia). I sold in the 90's just 2 four string tenors to Hawaii. It changed from 6 and 8 to 4 string tenor preference because of a number of things - mainly young Hawaiians playing contemporary music styles from punk to jazz. Although Bro Iz and his band were playing Hawaiian 'pop' which is reggae influenced it had no impact and like many early dead legends, his death repopularised the interst in Tin Pan Ally greats. So I think his impact was initially only local - it's stuff which would be kindly called high quality elevator music. What Jake did is bring to the fore a style of contemporary playing that James Hill was speaerheading in a very narrrow niche. Mentored by the jazz Hawaiian master Ohta San these young players graduated from sopranos to tenors because of the increased range of the largeer instrumet 12 frets - 18 /19frets. Jake opened the doors for everyone else simply because he chose a very popular song by a very famous Beatle. I'm sure George would have been chuffed. However, let us not forget it took a further 8 years, the internet and relentless efforts by Jake and others to bring the 4 string tenor to the fore (or in the case of Taimane, arguably the most adventurous of the bunch, a 5 string tenor). I saw sales of 4 string tenors begin to pick up in 2010/12 and attribute this to the internet, popular mainstream musicians suddenly coming out of the closet with their ukulele and a whole bunch of new builders in Hawaii rekindling the traditons of their fore-fathers in a contwmporary way, waking up the compacent giant Kamaka. It's all levelling off now but sady, contemporary players are still playing 'karaoke' stuff with very little original work for ukulele being composed - Sam Muir and Richarsd Durrant being the exceptions here in the UK Taimane in Hawaii. And despite an early and quite strong affair with the ukulele, artists like Victoria Vox want to use the ukulele not to the fore but as part of an instrument line-up in their band and as a singer-songwriter's composing not performing tool. Then tenor is probably the most flexible of the ukulele family and is a great all-rounder. The 17" scale is pimped onto soporano and concert bodies to create hybrid isntruments with range which goes to the questions: how, what and why.
Side Bar - UOGB's role has been to excite people abotu palying ukulele. They are not 'players' as such but are a cabaret act that uses ukulele as an ironic schtick. No-one has been doing it longer or better in the world and they represent the pinnacle of performance art using a niche idea.
My take as someone who has been in this game for 28 years now...
Thanks for weighing in Pete... a lovely, detailed comment that tells a well weathered and experienced perspective that few have on this whole industry.
@@UkesWithAlex Spell checked and now all in English.
@@petehowlett3966 "speaerheaded" squeezed through the spellcheck 😉.
Superb essay otherwise. That said, for me personally the effeck of Jake et al was not so much to popularize the 4-string tenor, but the uke in general.
I started on a Soprano, then a concert, then a Tenor. For me as I progressed the larger size made more complex techniques more accessible. It seems to be the right balance between being a Ukulele and allowing more advanced techniques to be more comfortable.
This may be controversial and if you ever see a competent finger style acoustic guitarist it’s nothing short of magical… but your average guitar owner playing open chords on the guitar for me is just grating and twangy. The Tenor on the other hand especially with a low G and the right woods can provide a decent dynamic range but is more soothing.
Also 😎 I found that owning a guitar and bringing it out people expect greatness haha however with a Uke the expectation is the other way around and people are often impressed with how you can make it sound (it’s less obnoxious).
I couldn't agree more... learning uke changed what I like from Guitar playing in the same way you describe.
@@UkesWithAlex I started a topic on Ukulele Underground with your video it’s got quite popular :)
Thanks Jay. I think 😆
I began with a tenor size, I don't have big hands but I always feel good and think it's the right choice.
Very interesting content. I love to hear how my recent adoption of the ukulele fits into the larger historical context. I think Iz had a huge impact on us all. Could you do a history of the baritone?
Absolutely... there is a fantastic article about the origins of the Baritone available on 'Ukulele' magazines website. Its my favourite size to talk about because its origins are not Hawaii/Portugal but instead two seperate companies in the 1940s/1950s in Boston and New York who had a similar idea at the same time. Both maintained it was their idea. How cool is that!
I love the sound of tenors the most but I have small hands. I'm currently playing a cheap saprano but want to upgrade and I'm torn because I'm worried my hands are too small
Hi Alex, big fan here. When fingerpicking, do you generally play with fingernails, fingertips or both? Ta!
The pads of my fingers or thumb
Tuned down a half step...oh so rich and mellow. I guess it was Jake that got me into tenors. Several have gone through my hands since then. Iz was the frosting on the cake.
Interesting video Alex, I think for me the perfect size is the Concert, but I gravitated to the tenors and baritones because I prefer the sound it produces plus I like to learn fingerstyle. I have always loved the sound of a guitar, albeit Tenors doesn't sound like one but some tenors can have sound characteristics of one. I've not heard a concert to produce similar, if you have a recommendation I'd love to know it! 😄
In my opinion, the longer scale of tenor size gives more space to put fingers especially in higher position.That makes playing complicated pieces easier. So we can see many professional performer use this size.
Alex, I don't "dive head first into the ukulele world" : I have sunk to the uke sea long ago with no hope of getting ashore again. 😂😂
This said, this was an incredibly interesting video again. Thank you Uke Captain and Master Diver ! Concerts have my fav up to now, but digging the baritone, lol. I hardly ever play my superb Pono ProClassic tenor, go figure !...
Walk Off The Earth got me interested in uke and I think they’ve mostly used tenors since they started making RUclips videos in 2011. It does seem to be the professional’s go-to size, tho I didn’t realize it’s a relatively recent trend.
I graduated from guitar and a low g tenor is more like a guitar. As soon as I picked up a kala arch top f hole sunburst there was no going back. I've got a handmade oil can uke now which is my favourite. I swop between tenor and baritone.
I like the fuller sound of the tenor but when it comes to playing I actually feel much more comfortable on the concert size. Getting better after starting a year ago and now sure, that I’ll stick with it, I now have to decide between getting the ANueNue AMM3 or the AMM2. I’ve been trying to decide for months now😂
😆
I startet with the concert, because I also play a timple canario with nearly same Mensur. Fortunately I have the ANUENUE Akk2 and the sound is full like a tenor. (Have a look in our video) And we are two Ukuleles so it swings beautiful.
What is the first brand of tenor you play at the end with the beautiful flower inlays? It looks like the name starts with an S on the headstock. Love the sound!
I literally put the name in the corner of the screen 😄
A Sumi Kobo
@@UkesWithAlex it didn't show up on mine but the ones after did.
What beautiful pieces you played at the end on the two ukes! What were they?
Both original pieces you can find on streaming services.
Alex Beds - Half my life away
Alex Beds - Honest Wandering
I play uke for leisure (beginner skills). Here’s what i’ve learned: Some people consider sops & concerts are considered a ‘toy size’, “too small”(even when they acknowledge that soprano is THE traditional/standard size of uke). Physical-wise, tenor size is ‘just nice’ for some ppl including mature players or ppl with physical challenges. People who play the uke would want a “ukulele sound”-hence although baritone sounds lovely, it still sounds guitarish due to the DGBE strings. But soprano & concert are ‘too small’ and so tenor hits just right.
I started with a tenor after hearing riptide when it first came out, and Vance Joy played with a tenor, so that’s what I got. Then I found Jake Shimakuro and that was that.
To me, the effect of the big-name players you mention was to propel the interest in ukes in general, not tenors in particular.
The trend to tenors is, I feel, partly market-driven (bigger profit margins in the more expensive tenors) and partly driven by people wanting to get a guitar-like sound with an easier instrument to play. I expect baritones to take off for those reasons.
So weird, I was just playing the Mario Theme on my Bass Uke before opening this 😲
Interesting article on the evolution of ukulele. Looking at tenors at the moment. Any recommendations around £300?
Flight Carabao or an Uma Classic ST
@@UkesWithAlex I'd been looking at the Flight Nighthawk but will take a peek at these, thanks
Feng e, honoka and azita 😊 sungha Jung 😊
And the tenor doesn't face the same Tiny Tim stigma a soprano does.
It's still a ukulele lol
Great video, thanks for the thorough research. Just wondering, sometimes I read that tenor ukulele's are tuned an octave lower than the soprano, mostly I read it's the same, then again I read but with the lower G string. Any thoughts on this? I just happen to have bought a tenor ukulele and I don't even know how to tune it now!
Tenor ukes are never tuned an octave lower, there aren't strings to even support thst. Typically people are talking about the G string being an octave lower 🙂 hope that helps?
@@UkesWithAlex, gosh, thanks, Alex. Yes, that confirms what I feared. So there is no difference really with a soprano uke. Luckily the tenor I bought is beautiful and has a lovely sound, so no regrets, but a little bit baffled. As a layperson I fully expected the tenor to be lower than the soprano, otherwise what is the point of the name?
Back in the day the Soprano was actually tuned to ADF#B and the Tenor would be tuned either at GCEA or lower... the ukulele is very much an evolving instrument with most of these conventional and standardised things coming into play since the 1950s
@@UkesWithAlex Thanks Alex. Interesting to consider it's not my new tenor that is tuned too high, but the standard soprano used to be tuned even higher once upon a time?
When? All the time
How? However I like
Why? Because I like them
I do not think the ukulele popularity will die down at all. It has earned a spot in the music world with the tenor. I do worry that almost all are made in China and they are sabre rattling over Taiwan. That stream might die due to chinese agression. I own 3, a Hilo soprano I bought years ago and a real cheapy, a all acacia Caramel concert and a butterfly bocote tenor with a pickup. I think its a solid but it could be laminate top but it was cheap to see if I like it. I will be buying a solid acacia tenor, most likely a Flight Mustang. I would love a plain Koa tenor but that is out of my price range. Learning and getting used to my fingers as they build the callous... owwwwww.... but happy LOL
𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙢
Can't hear a uke
Turn your volume up