Here are my top tips and tricks for getting the best sound out of your ukulele. I think the first and most obvious tip is to practice because as they say “practice makes perfect!” In all seriousness though, it is important to practice and make sure you’re always pushing yourself as this way you will always be improving your technique and abilities, meaning that the sound you personally produce from the ukulele will be good. It is also a good idea to record yourself and listen back so you can hear how you sound and critique yourself on how to improve.
When practicing it is a good idea to practice things slowly so that you build the muscle memory in your fingers, this way you can eradicate mistakes and slowly increase the speed until you’re playing at a million miles an hour.
There are ways that you can improve the sound of your ukulele with the first being changing the strings. On a lot of beginner ukulele’s you will find that the strings aren’t always the best and it may be wise to change them when you get your ukulele. They are many brands out there that do good quality ukulele strings such as 3rd Avenue, Aquila, Mahalo and Stagg. Having new strings will not only improve the tone of the uke it will also help with the tuning meaning it should stay in tune for longer periods of time giving you longer sessions of practice and playing without having to tune.
It is important to not hold the uke too tightly as this can smother the sound out of it. You have to remember that the uke is a small instrument and doesn’t have lots of volume in the first place so you want to hold it freely and let that beautiful sound flow.
Traditionally you will use your hands to strum the ukulele but you can also use a plectrum. Most ukes don’t come with a scratch plate so I would recommend using a felt plectrum to stop any scratching damage to the body of your ukulele.
I think the key tip is to always enjoy yourself when playing as the ukulele is one of the most fun instruments to play and I think this should always be kept in mind.
