4 Tips for Welcoming a New Ukulele Into Your Life

 Last night on our way to a doctor's appointment for our son (we've all had the creeping crud for the last 10+ days), it started to snow, and I asked my husband if I should put some Christmas music on the car radio. He gave me The Look, and then when we crossed into the No Man's Land of very little radio reception (we live in the mountains), I casually switched the station over to the local 24/7 Christmas music station out of Vermont. (But because we just put snow tires on the car, he didn't notice it until we got near the health center and slowed down and the noise from the studded snow tires went away.)

So, yes, it's that time of year when many of us daydream about welcoming a new ukulele into our collections. Since I started playing in 2019, I've been able to experience the joy of unwrapping a new instrument on Christmas morning and spending the day casually strumming and plucking away in between board games and cookies. 

Not that you have to wait for Christmas to buy a new ukulele - really, any time of year is a great time to add a new ukulele to your collection, or even to buy your first ukulele. (There's no time like the present!)

That said, if you're anticipating making your first purchase of a ukulele this holiday season, here are a few of my best tips for avoiding disappointment when buying a new ukulele:

1. Try before you buy. If possible. I mean, for me, it's not always possible to take a ukulele for a test run before I purchase it. That's because I live near the middle of Nowhere, N.Y., and the closest decent instrument shop that sells ukuleles is at least a 90-minute drive one-way. BUT if you live in a place where you can get to an instrument shop easily, it's always a good idea to try out a few different ukuleles before you make your final purchase. 

That said, there are a number of reputable places where you can buy ukuleles online. Try Mims Ukes or Uke Republic - I've had outstanding experiences buying instruments from both of these places!

2. Let your ukulele adjust to the inside temperature before opening the box. This is mostly true if you're buying a high-end solid wood ukulele, but I also try to do this for my solid top ukuleles. It's really really hard to resist the urge to just rip open that box and start jamming, but some instruments need time to adjust to the indoor temperature. Especially if you live in a cold, dry climate (like I do), give your new ukuleles time to adjust from being out in the cold weather and stored in cold warehouses before you open it up. 

3. Expect to tune your ukulele. A lot. Once you do open that new package and gaze upon your beautiful new addition, the first thing you'll need to do is tune it up. And you'll have to keep tuning it every time you pick it up, probably for about a week or so. 

One of the things I see constantly in the ukulele Facebook groups I belong to are people who think there's something wrong with their new ukuleles because they need to be tuned all the freaking time. That's completely normal and to be expected until the strings stretch out and hold their tuning! Even then, I always take time to tune my ukulele before I start to play. 

Another thing about stock strings - I have yet to find a single ukulele, outside of my little Martin soprano, that came with decent stock strings. I'm not really a fan of the typical nylagut strings that come on pretty much every ukulele, so I usually request a string change when I order my ukuleles. (Some places don't offer that service, and that's okay, you can do it yourself or take it to a local instrument store and have them change the strings.) So if you find that your ukulele just does not stay in tune, even after a week of tuning and playing, you might want to consider changing up the strings. (Ukulele string preference is very subjective, and that's gonna be a topic for a whole other blog.)

4. Play play play! The more you play your new ukulele, the more you get to know it! Honestly, whenever I'm learning a new piece of music, I play it on several of my ukuleles to get a feel for it. Playing your new ukulele will help you feel more comfortable with it, and help you learn how it sounds and what it's best for playing. Some ukes are better for things like harmonics and fingerstyle/chord melody, others sound much better for strumming. Take the time to get to know your new friend and have fun!

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Got any tips of your own for what to do when you welcome a new ukulele into your life? Leave them here in the comments!