He had mentioned wanting a ukulele since his last trip to Hawaii. He’s 6′4″ tall and somehow, a little ukulele in his hands seemed comical to me. He reminded me of how big Iz Kamakawiwo’ole was. He didn’t need to remind me of the beauty of his concert ukulele music.
We stayed on Kauai. Remember “Puff, the Magic Dragon”? We visited the real Hanalei, looking for the Dragon’s cave. We hiked along a stream to find the waterfall it led to–it was like finding the end of the rainbow. And on our helicopter ride, we saw 360 degree rainbows! The Plumaria grows wild along the sides of the roads with colors so vivid they barely resembled any I had ever seen. We walked through a glimmering botanical garden and laughed at the chameleons trying to hide on the multi-hued foliage. This land was so unbelievably bright and alive it was mystical! And the sound track for this fantasy became be the ukulele.
When we got home, I decided to buy him his uke. I learned that ukuleles come in 4 sizes, each with tones and volume corresponding to their sizes. Because he’s a big guy, I thought I’d get him a Baritone, the largest one. I learned the strings were tuned to the top 4 strings of a guitar. Why buy an incomplete guitar? I considered the Tenor because that was the next larger size. But the sounds of the Tenor were heavier and just didn’t express the airy lightness of the Hawaii we had experienced. The smallest and original Hawaiian size, the Soprano, had the liveliness I wanted but sounded a little too tinny.
The remaining size, the concert ukulele, was just right! After all of my considerations, this is the model I would recommend. It is moderately priced (prices increase with size) It has a richer tone with more volume than the Soprano, but doesn’t lose the fun and brightness intrinsic to the uke. It’s larger than the Soprano so it allows a bit more room on the fretboard for fingers. Plus, it is a Concert model–it isn’t simply named for it’s range, but for its utility. This is a professional instrument that will entertain in any venue.
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