Learn How to Play the Ukulele: Ukulele Anatomy

My favorite classes in college were all about anatomy. I loved learning about all the different parts that make up a body, and how they work together. Ukuleles may not meet all the biological criteria for being "alive", but they do have souls all their own, and they also have some amazing anatomy.

As I wrote this post, I realized that I probably should have published it before the post on how to string a ukulele, but now Blogger won't let me reschedule my posts (grrrrrr!), so better late than never, here's some ukulele anatomy for you to help you learn how to play the ukulele.

Ukulele anatomy is very similar to guitar anatomy, which is very similar to violin and viola and cello anatomy. So, if you've ever played any of those instruments in the past, what you read here will sound and look very familiar.

Starting from the top down...

Headstock This is the top part of the ukulele where the tuners reside. There are two basic different types of headstocks: solid and slotted. Personally, I prefer the slotted headstocks for purely aesthetic reasons, but many of the solid headstocks have beautiful inlays or can be jazzed up with inlay stickers. This part of the ukulele needs to be strong enough to hold tension in the strings.

Tuners or Tuning Pegs These are the little pegs that you wind your strings around and turn them in order to keep your strings in tune. Depending on what style headstock you have on your ukulele, the tuning pegs will either poke out towards the side or towards the back of the ukulele. Most ukuleles use either friction or geared tuners, with most uke players preferring geared tuners. The tuners may be exposed so you can see the action, or they may be covered up. 

Nut This is a small bar that rests at the base of the headstock, right at the top of the neck. It has little slots in it that accommodate each string. The nut serves two purposes: it elevates the strings a few millimeters off the fretboard so that you can press down on the strings to produce a tone, and it spaces the strings so you can easily fingerpick or pluck each string individually.

Fretboard This is the front (top) part of the neck, usually made from a different kind of wood than the rest of the neck. It's where the frets are held in place. 

Frets These are small bars (usually made from metal), that are hammered into the fretboard at very specific intervals. Each interval marks a half step rise in tone moving from the nut down to the sound hole. When playing your ukulele, you press your finger down between frets to produce a tone. 

Fret Markers These can be inlays in the center of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets, or they can be marked on the side of the neck, or both. These are used to help you learn the locations of these frets for quick and easy chord changes.

Neck This is the back of the fretboard, and is carved and attached to the body of the uke in such a way that makes it easy for a player to curl their hand around and reach the strings with their fingers. The neck usually includes the headstock, and is the strongest part of the ukulele in order to accommodate the tension of the strings.

Body This is the hollow part of the ukulele that is usually composed of sides, a front, and a back. It allows the vibrations from the strings to be amplified as sound. There are lots of different variations on the size and shape of the body of the ukulele - some ukes can be made from things like cigar boxes, hubcaps, and frying pans.

Sound Hole This is an opening in the body, usually located in the front up near the base of the fretboard, that allows the vibrations from the strings to escape as sound. The sound hole can be in many different shapes, or can sometimes be located on the side of the uke body, or even in the form of intricately carved f-holes on either side of the center front of the ukulele.

Bridge Located near the base of the front body of the ukulele, this is the part of the ukulele where the strings are attached. Some ukuleles have a metal box similar to a mandolin instead of a bridge. The bridge is usually glued or somehow permanently attached to the body of the ukulele. Strings can either be inserted through the bridge and tied off, or can be inserted through the bridge to the inside of the body of the ukulele where they are attached with beads.

Saddle Just like the nut, the saddle keeps the strings spaced out evenly across the fretboard and also keeps them raised a certain distance above the fretboard, which affects the action of the ukulele. Some saddles have notches in them for the strings to nestle into, and others are smooth so that the strings rest on them using tension from the tuning pegs.

Strap Buttons Some ukuleles have these little buttons for attaching a guitar or ukulele strap. Ukuleles can have a single strap button on the bottom of the ukulele, or two with an extra button located at the base of the neck where the neck is attached to the body of the uke. Some players install their own strap buttons on the uke to make holding the uke easier when standing and playing for long periods of time.

There you have it - ukulele anatomy in a nutshell! Once you understand how all the different parts of your instrument work together, it'll give you a much richer playing experience.