Soprano, Concert, or Tenor Ukulele: A Guide to Choosing the Right Size

You usually start with a soprano ukulele. When you think you've become good, you might feel the need to play a concert or a tenor. But only when you're truly great will you go back to playing the soprano.

Luca Scalco

When we think of the ukulele, we picture a small guitar with a bright and cheerful sound, but it's important to know that there are several different sizes and models. Today, we'll talk about the standard sizes—the most common and widespread ones.

The smallest size is the soprano, the ukulele as it was conceived by the first Portuguese luthiers who landed in the Hawaiian Islands. The tenor is the largest standard size, featuring a longer fretboard and usually a few extra frets, along with a more voluminous body. Finally, there's the concert size, which sits right in the middle of the other two.

How Does Sound Change with Ukulele Size?

Standard sizes commonly use the same tuning and therefore have different efficiencies. But let's take a small step back and understand together what "string efficiency" means, as it's a crucial element in understanding the timbral differences between sizes. Imagine tuning a string on your instrument, going higher and higher until it snaps. By recording the frequency (the note played) right before it breaks, we would find the breaking point of that specific material, whether it's Nylon, Nylgut, Carbon, etc.

I can increase the string diameter as much as I want, but it will always break at the same note (or, to be precise, within the same range of notes). The closer a string is tuned to its breaking point, the more efficient it will be. Note: by increasing the diameter, I increase the string tension—how "hard" it feels when I press or pluck it—but its breaking point will always remain the same.

Efficiency in the String Orchestra

The string orchestra is a perfect example for understanding string efficiency. Take the violin: it's an instrument tuned very close to its strings' breaking point. It's not uncommon to see a violinist snap a string, especially a high one, while tuning. The sound gets into your head, into your ears; it's bright and sharp. The soundbox is small, but the sound is remarkably loud. This is the most common type of instrument and tuning among soloists, who prefer a sound with excellent attack and little sustain.

The double bass, on the other hand, is tuned far from the breaking point. The sound hits you in the gut; it's warm and percussive. The body is massive, and the sound is persistent even at a distance, with a weaker attack but excellent sustain, making it ideal for accompaniment. For those who don't know, attack is the initial part of a sound's emission, while sustain is how long the sound lasts.

Throughout history, luthiers have been well aware of the concept of efficiency and have always sought to enhance the instrument's shape to best complement the strings used.

The Origin of the Ukulele and Its Tuning

The ukulele was actually born respecting this rule, with its earliest models sounding like a sort of small mandolin. However, the GCEA tuning we widely use today became popular under different circumstances. Contrary to what happens in classical instruments, the smallest ukulele, the soprano, has a tuning far from its breaking point, making it less efficient and giving it a warm, "full-bodied" sound.

Starting in the 1920s, the music industry introduced a new size to the US market: the tenor, with a longer fretboard and thus a greater vibrating length. This enhances the characteristics of a richer, more powerful sound, typical of a tuning closer to the breaking point. By increasing the instrument's size while keeping the same tuning, we get closer to the breaking point and thus achieve greater string efficiency. This also changes the timbre, making it more metallic and, to simplify, more guitar-like. The concert, once again, is exactly in the middle.

The Different Timbres of the Sizes

The result is that the soprano is perfect as an accompanying instrument, while the concert and, even more so, the tenor tend to have characteristics closer to a soloist's sound—bright and metallic. Of course, the larger body of the concert and tenor gives the sound a greater richness of harmonics, while still maintaining that metallic timbre. In the video mentioned above, you'll be able to hear the timbral difference between these three sizes.

But Why Do We Tune the Ukulele to GCEA?

This is where the story gets complicated, but in a nutshell, we can say that the precursors to the ukulele are undoubtedly the machete (as large as a tenor ukulele, with five strings tuned D-G-C-E-A) and the braguinha (as large as a soprano, tuned D-G-B-D). The machete became popular among rural populations, taking the name taropatch. The ukulele remained tied to the braguinha until the end of the century, keeping its original tuning, as explained in the 1915 book "Original Method and Self-Instructor on the Ukulele." However, at the end of the 19th century, using the machete's tuning on the ukulele became common, using its first four strings. The first document that explicitly refers to the current GCEA tuning is in the 1910 manual "The Ukulele, a Hawaiian Guitar and How to Play It." This tuning proved to be the most popular among musicians arranging songs, and they made it the standard.

In conclusion, there are no rules that determine which size is best. Above all, there are no physical limitations like hands being too big or too small for one size over another. Each size has a unique timbre, which can also vary slightly depending on the type of strings used and the wood the ukulele is made from.

The Soprano

It has a recognizable, classic ukulele sound: warm, "full-bodied," and ideal for supporting the voice in singing, creating a sonic backdrop that lets the vocal line shine. In fingerstyle, it sounds a bit "dirtier" and less precise, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The Concert

It's the middle ground, ideal for those who don't want to stray too far from the soprano's sound but desire a slightly brighter timbre and a more comfortable fretboard. You could say it's "neither fish nor fowl," but at the same time, it's the perfect size precisely because it sits right in the middle.

The Tenor

This size is highly favored by guitarists and soloists, perhaps because of its more metallic timbre, which is similar to the instrument they already play. This size loses a bit of the ukulele's sonic identity, moving into more guitar-like registers. With its excellent volume, it truly shines in fingerstyle: the sound immediately reaches maximum volume but also fades out very quickly, making it ideal for fast passages. When strummed, its larger body gives it a very rich sound that blends with the voice.