Holding the Ukulele: Top Tips
Holding the ukulele is something that most players never give a second thought to (they just hold it in whatever way comes natural). However, holding the ukulele correctly is vital for your playing.
Holding it in the wrong way could mean it slipping and ruining your performance. Imagine standing in front of a room full of people, playing a song and having it slip out of your hands. That's the sort of embarrassment that your certainly want to avoid.
Less dramatically, how you hold the ukulele will influence the sound that the ukulele makes. If you want to get a good tone out of your ukulele, it is vital that you get into good habits in how you hold your uke.
Furthermore, holding your ukulele in the wrong way will restrict your movement. You want to make sure that the way you hold your ukulele does not unnecessarily restrict what you are able to play.
Hold Your Ukulele Loosely
The ukulele is a very small instrument. Because of this, it is very easy for the sound it makes to be strangled if you hold it too tightly. You can test this for yourself. Stand close to a wall (facing it), hold your uke as tightly as possible against your body and strum it. Then move it away from your body completely so it's just being held by your fretting hand. Strum it. Compare the sounds and you'll be able to hear what a difference this makes.
Holding a Ukulele When You Are Sitting
Watch the all time great players such as Roy Smeck and Jake Shimabukuro and take note of how they hold the ukulele. They tend to hold it diagonally so that only a small portion of the ukulele is touching their body. They also rest it gently on their thigh to make sure it doesn't slip (rather than holding it with their arm).
Holding a Ukulele When You Are Standing
This is a much trickier proposition. When you stand up, you have to compromise a little more on sound by holding it tighter to ensure it doesn't slip.
You should have the back end of the ukulele between the inside of your forearm and your body. From there it should be angled away from you so that you can see some of the back of the ukulele when you look down. This means it can vibrate freely resulting in a louder sound.
About the Author: Al Wood writes at Ukulele Hunt about the Kanilea ukulele, KoAloha ukulele and Applause ukulele.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 12 views | Jul 16 2008
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