Should You Get a Baritone Ukulele?
by Jonas
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A baritone ukulele sounds different, is easy to play, offers a wider fret and string spacing. It's similar to a guitar. Give it a try!
There are four ukulele sizes, soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. Why would you choose the biggest one, the baritone ukulele? When does getting the big one make the most sense? See how all four compare in the sizes guide.
Why the baritone ukulele is known as the black sheep
If you’re a beginner, you should know that any of the four ukulele sizes will make a great starter instrument. As you will find out in the ukulele buying guide, the soprano, concert and tenor sizes are the most common ones. All three instruments have the same tuning and chords. Most of the instructional materials you’ll find cater to owners of any of these three sizes.
Because the baritone ukulele is so different from the other three, it’s often described as the black sheep of the ukulele family. That’s a shame really, because we think it’s really special. If you haven’t got a baritone ukulele in your collection yet, or if you’re unsure whether the baritone would be a good choice for you, read on. Find out the top three reasons why a bari uke should be your next instrument purchase.
1. A baritone ukulele sounds different
What makes the baritone ukulele different from the other ukulele sizes is what makes it so endearing. Are you interested in playing the ukulele but not much of a fan of the too-bright, too-sweet tones? In that case the baritone size would be a good match for you. Why is that? Because it produces a lower tone: a warmer, darker and richer sound as a result of its construction and tuning. A typical ukulele is tuned as GCEA whereas the baritone is tuned as DGBE.
The deep tone the bari uke produces makes this instrument a favourite among musicians who play blues or jazz. The best baritone ukuleles also respond well to fingerpicking styles, giving musicians more range and flexibility.
So, get a baritone if you want to expand your tonal range and create a more mellow, deeper sound.
2. It is easy to play
The baritone ukulele is easy to play, which makes it a great choice for beginners. The other ukulele sizes are also beginner-friendly but could feel uncomfortable to play if you have long or thick fingers.
Smaller ukes have a tighter fret and string spacing, requiring players to really squeeze their fingers into frets when forming chords. This isn’t a problem for kids and petite adults but for players with bigger hands, it’s common to accidentally place your fingers on the wrong strings.
The baritone ukulele offers a wider fret and string spacing, which means your fingers will have more playing room. If you find smaller ukes to be… well… too small for you, consider getting a baritone instead.
3. It is similar to a guitar
If you play the guitar, you’ll be familiar with the tuning of the baritone ukulele: DGBE. Yep, it’s the same as the top or highest-pitched strings on the guitar. Want to play the uke? Go ahead and get a baritone, and play the same chords using only those four strings. The chords are basically the same.
This is why the bari uke is popular among guitar players. They can play a new instrument without having to learn anything drastically new!
Likewise, if you already play a baritone ukulele, you’ll find it easier to transition to guitar because some of the chords will already be familiar to you. The size of the baritone – about 30 inches long – is also closest to that of a travel-sized acoustic guitar.
As you can see, a baritone ukulele is a fantastic instrument to pick up whether you’re a beginner or an experienced musician. Go ahead and get one!
Need more input?
I hope this guide has helped to explain why you might want to get a baritone ukulele. If you want to give the baritone size a shot, but don’t want to break the bank, I can highly recommend the Makala baritone ukulele in mahogany from Kala. I’m a big fan of Kala and while their premium ukulele’s are top notch, they are also well know for their very good entry tier ukulele’s.
5 Frequently Asked Questions about baritone ukes
Standard baritone tuning is D–G–B–E. This is the same as the top four strings of a standard guitar. Baritone ukuleles give a deeper, warmer sound compared to the brighter G–C–E–A tuning of smaller ukuleles.
Yes and no. You can use the same chord shapes, but the names of the chords will be different because of tuning (DGBE compared to GCEA). For example, a C shape on a standard tuned ukulele becomes a G chord on a baritone.
Sure! The larger size makes it comfortable for players with bigger hands. The similar tuning to guitar makes it familiar if you’ve played guitar before. However, there are more resources and chord charts available for soprano, concert, or tenor ukuleles. UkuTabs coves all ukuleles of course.
Besides the tuning and size, baritone ukuleles have a deeper, fuller tone with more bass presence. Standard ukuleles (soprano, concert, tenor) sound brighter and more percussive. The baritone’s range overlaps more with guitar.
Yes, with the right string set designed for GCEA on baritone scale length, you can tune it like a standard ukulele. It might be tricky thouhg and keep in mind that tension, feel, and tone will differ from a smaller uke due to the body of the ukulele.
Feel free to contact me whenever you need more information about buying the perfect baritone ukulele for you!
Also interested in things to know before buying a ukulele?
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Hi while music has always been a huge inspiration for me as a listener, the Baritone Ukulele is my first instrument to play and learn on. I have a Lohanu with the DGBE tuning. The top two strings are coiled and the bottom two are nylon. The tabs shown to learn chords are for the other Ukulele sizes. My question is, do those work on the baritone also? Are their different chords for the baritone? Or should I be learning guitar chords on my baritone ukulele?
Gotta’ say, I never thought about a uke, as it has always seemed like a silly instrument to me. When I saw your description of why people dislike them, it took the words right out of my head.
I guess I’ll start looking for a baritone ukelele.
hi
I bought a Baritone Ukelele and it is arriving on Monday, thanks for the tip.
You are writing that the strings of the Baritone are the same as the strings from the gitar: Standard baritone tuning is D–G–B–E. This is the same as the top four strings of a standard guitar. but is the top of the gitar not E-A-D-G-B-E so for me are the strings on the lower side and not on top, can you reply Please?
Necesito un método de estudio para Ukelele Barítono en Español
Hallo,
mache ich einen Denkfehler, oder kann man auf einer Bariton-Uke, kein eingestrichenes C spielen? Es liegt ja in der Tonleiter vor dem D. Oder denke ich jetzt gerade falsch? Auf einer normalen Uke ist das ja durchaus möglich.
If the chord tuning is different on a baritone Uke can I still use the music and chords that I have learned? Thanks
I just wanted to add the baritone banjo-ukulele hybrid to the mix of considerations. A.k.a the banjolele, there aren’t too many baritones out there but for a high quality option, check out Songbird Stringed Instruments at SongbirdUSA.com. They make one that is really cool!
Ciao, sto cercando disperatamente un corso, un manuale meglio se con video per ukulele baritono…. naturalmente in italiano, ma non riesco a trovare nulla, si trovano solo in inglese….voi, per caso sapete consigliarmi qualcosa? Grazie mille se mi rispondete. Saluti. [email protected]
A string { 7 7 10 7 5 3 2} seven nation army
I really wish I came across this two months ago. I recently purchased a mahogany tenor ukulele because of its deep, rich quality sound and its 18 frets, but if I had known that the baritone was just as good (or even better) than I would definitely had made wiser purchase. Thank you for this guide. I am going to look into purchasing a baritone sometime.
can a baritone uke be successfully tunEd GDAE
so are chords played the same as soprano-tenor ukuleles?
Baritone ukulele has great sound more like guitar than ukulele great for fingerpicking and melody songs for guitar players go straight to a baritone it is a guitar without the a and e string
I have seen baritones with doubled strings. Can you talk about these?