Tenor Ukuleles – What Are They Good For?

The traditional size of ukulele is the soprano. And this has also been the most popular ukulele. But increasingly the tenor ukulele is taking the place of the most popular uke. This is no doubt due to the influence of professional ukulele players like Jake Shimabukuro and James Hill who use tenors in their work. So the tenor is becoming popular with all types of player – even beginners.

Defining A Tenor Ukulele

The types of ukulele are divided by their size (specifically the playable length of the strings – the scale length). The tenor ukulele has a scale length of 17 inches making it the largest of the re-entrant ukuleles (two inches larger than the concert and four inches larger than the tenor).

As well as having a larger scale length, the tenor has a larger soundbox as well. This gives the tenor greater resonance (more volume and tone) than the other ukes.

Why Play A Tenor?

The extra room on a tenor ukulele gives you space to perform more ukulele show-off skills. This is why it is so popular with ukulele soloists like Jake and James Hill. Without this extra space, your fingers have a tendency to trip over themselves.

The tenor also offers greater volume and tone than the smaller ukuleles. This is not, however, always the case. It will, of course, also depend on other factors such as the wood, the skill of the construction and how the ukulele is played. But, all other things being equal, this will be true.

What are the disadvantages?

The greater resonance of the tenor isn’t always something you want. This tone means it loses the traditional ukulele sound and doesn’t have the same punch to it.

This problem is particularly noticeable when you strum a tenor. You don’t get quite the same feeling of natural strumming as you do on the soprano. It’s the natural flip side to the tenor’s greater ability for fingerpicking.

Another draw back is that you will not find many tenor ukuleles in the budget range. So if you don’t have a lot to spend, your choices will be fairly limited. If you have less than $100 to spend, your best choice is the Makala tenor.