Musical Instruments

Guitar V/s Ukulele: What is the difference?

We discussed upon the key differences between a trombone and a trumpet in the previous month’s blog here : Trombone V/S Trumpet: What is the difference?

Similarly, this blog will focus on the key differences between the two most popular musical instruments in the Philippines- guitar, and ukulele. It won’t be wrong to say that the ukulele is the guitar’s younger brother. Both the instruments are similar in some ways and different in others. Let’s compare the two instruments to find the exact difference.

Size

This is the most obvious difference is that the ukulele is much smaller than the guitar. The size of the ukulele varies between 13 5/8 and 20 1/8 inches while the guitar is around 24 to 25 inches. Therefore the ukulele is much lighter than an electric guitar. Guitar weighs around 4 to 4.5 kg while ukulele weighs from 226 to 780 gram. Therefore the ukulele is easier to carry than the guitar.

Number of Strings

The standard guitar has six strings while the ukulele has four. The strings of a guitar are made out of steel and therefore require more strength to play. On the other hand, the strings of the ukulele are made out of nylon and therefore puts less strain on the fingers while playing. Therefore it is easier to learn to play the ukulele than the guitar.

Tuning

The ukulele and guitar are tuned differently but they are related. The ukulele is tuned G-C-E-A and the guitar is tuned E-A-G-D-B-E. If you put your finger or a capo on the fifth fret of the guitar, you will get the notes of the ukulele.

Sound

This is quite a big difference. Certain factors including tone woods, body size, and manufacturer all affect tone in ways that can be hard to quantify and describe. The ukulele has four main types of sounds depending upon the size of the instrument. The guitar has two main types of sound depending on how it is amplified.

Miscellaneous

The other factors include scale length, price, chord, string tension, right-hand technique, and so on.

However, the choice remains yours. Both the instrument are good at its place. The guitar and the ukulele both are available at the most popular online musical instruments store of the Philippines, Global Music.

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