Nobert
Practically Family
- Messages
- 832
- Location
- In the Maine Woods
The uke really is a good "entry-level" instrument. The guitar may be better when you're a teenager, and more into raising a ruckus (that's how I started). Like Atticus Finch alluded to, fretted stringed instruments have a relatively low learning curve for getting basic competency (as opposed to, say, the violin). Just yesterday, I attended a class of uke players. It was really nice to see a bunch of people, none of whom were professional musicians, and who had various levels of ability, just playing for the fun of it.
I actually think the ukulele is a more subtle and sophisticated instrument than the guitar, to be honest. The limitation of four strings and a small range really makes you get down to the brass tacks of what you can do. It has all the fun of being able to string a few chords together and make a song (as does the guitar), but if you want to go further you have to rely on song structure and melody, whereas with a guitar you can get away more with volume and fancy tricks. Not bad-mouthing guitar, it's a great instrument, and I love players from Eddie Lang and Django Reinhardt to rock and roll folks who use it for accompaniment. Uke's just good for getting to the fundamentals.
I actually think the ukulele is a more subtle and sophisticated instrument than the guitar, to be honest. The limitation of four strings and a small range really makes you get down to the brass tacks of what you can do. It has all the fun of being able to string a few chords together and make a song (as does the guitar), but if you want to go further you have to rely on song structure and melody, whereas with a guitar you can get away more with volume and fancy tricks. Not bad-mouthing guitar, it's a great instrument, and I love players from Eddie Lang and Django Reinhardt to rock and roll folks who use it for accompaniment. Uke's just good for getting to the fundamentals.
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