Concert vs. Soprano Ukulele: Which Type of Ukulele is Right for You?

Measuring around 22”, the soprano ukulele is also referred to as the “standard” ukulele. It’s the smallest and most popular of the bunch.

Tuned G-E-C-A, with the G usually tuned high, the soprano has a cheerful, bright tone. The 13-14” scale length makes it super friendly to tiny hands, but a bit of a tight fit for larger hands, and is generally best suited to playing chords.

Most people immediately associate the snappy percussive tone with the Islands and traditional ukelele songs. It’s a great size for kids getting started. Soprano ukeleles are typically strummed using a felt pick, but you can use a regular guitar pick, too (just be gentle). Due to their tiny size, soprano ukes are usually quiet, which makes them tough to get into a mix. They’re also a little hard to keep in tune, so make sure you always have a tuner handy!

Stepping up in size to around 24”, the concert ukelele has a slightly longer string scale of 14-15”, which opens a little room on the fretboard for more complicated fingerstyle and solo playing. It shares the high G-E-C-A tuning and chimey tone with the soprano uke but with slightly more mids and a tiny bit of bass, making it a nice accompaniment for vocals.  Concert ukeleles can be strummed or played fingerstyle.

With an overall length of 26” and a string scale around 17”, the tenor ukelele offers more room between the frets for even more complicated fingerboard gymnastics. Sharing the same G-E-C-A tuning, a tenor uke can have the G tuned low or high, giving it an extra bit of range. It has a bigger, wider body, giving more bass and lower mids, making it ideal for vocal accompaniment.

The tenor uke is a great size for guitarists wanting to cross over to ukulele. Like the concert, the tenor can be strummed or played fingerstyle.

Measuring 30” with a 19”-21” string scale, the baritone ukelele feels a lot like a mini acoustic guitar. The lower tuning of D-G-B-E matches exactly the highest four strings of a guitar, making the baritone an excellent choice for guitarists wanting a ukelele. All the chord shapes work! The generous string scale is great for soloing and chording. An even larger body gives the baritone a warm smooth voice, like a classical guitar, excellent for pairing with smaller ukes and all types of vocals.