How to Play the Ukulele: To Strap Or Not to Strap?

In general, ukulele players are pretty laid back folks. But there's one thing in the ukulele world that'll fire them right up: the debate over whether or not to use a strap when you're learning how to play the ukulele. 

As a rule, most of the entry level ukuleles that I bought didn't even have a strap button, so the only way to use a strap was to  use one of those j-hook straps that attach to the sound hole and then go over your head. The more I used my j-hook strap, the more I disliked it. 

First of all, I was worried that the plastic hook would eventually damage the sound hole. Even on an inexpensive uke, I didn't want to cause any more wear and tear than was absolutely necessary. Second of all, the strap didn't do anything to secure the uke. If I let go of the uke and it started to fall to the floor, the strap would do diddly squat to keep it secure. Finally, that particular type of hook strap didn't really do much to aid my posture or make it easier to hold my uke - because like I said before, if I let go of the uke, the strap would allow it to fall to the floor. Not much sense in using it then, right?

There are other options for using a ukulele strap, especially when you're just starting out learning how to play the ukulele.

The Hug Strap is another option for anyone who is playing a ukulele with a "waist" (a narrowing at the center of the body) and who doesn't want to drill a hole in their ukulele to install a strap button. I haven't tried one of these straps (yet), but maybe one day I'll give it a go.

Finally, if you want to do it yourself or take your uke to a luthier or music shop, you can have a strap button installed on the bottom of your uke. It just takes a few minutes to drill the hole, and then you can attach a regular guitar strap to your ukulele. Unless you install a strap at the base of the neck where it's attached to the body of the uke, you can just use the ties on the other end of the guitar strap to attach it to the top of the neck, right at the base of the headstock and right above the nut.

But is a strap even necessary?

Like so many things with ukulele, it's really a personal choice.

For me, holding a uke up against my - ahem - chest can be problematic. There's lots of slippage when you're trying to hold an instrument up against a couple of water balloons, if you get my drift. So I either have to sit and hold my uke or use a strap if I'm going to stand.

And then there's posture. For me, having a strap means I'm free to practice good posture since I'm not clutching an object to my chest and trying to hunch over it. The strap frees me up to move my left hand freely up and down the neck of my instrument, and at the same time, I'm not hunching or crunching my entire upper body into a ball.

I've heard some ukulele professionals and teachers say to not use a strap because you might develop bad habits when it comes to holding and playing the ukulele. But in all honesty, there's always the potential to develop bad habits, so I say, do what makes you comfortable and lets you feel secure in playing your ukulele, and have fun!