Tie-bar bridges have small holes in them which the string is threaded through. The bridge is usually glued to the body of the ukulele, and can come in two different types - tie-bar and the standard bridge. The bridge if the ukulele is the part that the strings are attached to on the body of the instrument. Some ukuleles have a pattern inlaid around the sound hole, known as the rosette. When you are playing the ukulele, if you strum over the sound hole you will produce the loudest sound, whereas if you strum down or up the strings further, the sound will be much quieter. Located under the strings in the body of the ukulele, the sound hole is a round hole that projects out the sound that reverberates inside the ukulele body. Some ukuleles have a 'cut-away' body shape much like that of some modern guitars, where the shoulder of the instrument has literally been cut away so that the player has easier access to the top notes on the fretboard. Ukulele 'bodies' come in varying shapes and sizes, many of which mimic the classical or modern forms of other instruments. As such, much of the tone of the ukulele is dependent on the body. The body of the ukulele is important as it amplifies the sound of the vibrating strings. The body of the ukulele is the main 'box' part and comprises of a backpiece, sides and a frontpiece.
The neck and the headstock are usually made of one solid piece of material. The neck of the ukulele needs to be strong in order to support the tension of the strings. It is curved from side to side to allow the uke players hand to cup around the neck and fingerboard comfortably, and it is usually made of solid material (either plastic or, more commonly, wood). The neck is the piece of the ukulele located behind the fretboard. Fret markers are usually present on the third, fifth, seventh, tenth and twelfth fret. These little dots help you to find your way from one note to another, and are particularly helpful when moving larger distances up and down the fretboard. Fret Markersįret markers are little inlaid white 'dots' on the fretboard, though fret markers can sometimes be other shapes and colors too. This is because as the string gets shorter, the difference between one semi-tone and the next is smaller. Frets get closer together the closer they are to the sound hole. This means that unlike a fretless instrument (like those in the violin family) the ukulele can only play in semi-tonal increments. The frets stick out a little from the surface of the fretboard so when a finger is placed behind a fret, the fret stops the string instead of the finger itself. The frets are the small bars that are hammered into the fretboard at very specific intervals. A good fretboard needs to be strong and perfectly smooth so that it can be glued exactly onto the neck. Usually the fretboard is colored black, an aesthetic habit that has seemed to stick from when fretboards were commonly made of dark hardwoods like rosewood and ebony. The fretboard is the front surface of the neck, beneath the strings. The ukulele would be unplayable without the nut, with strings that slip out of place and rub against the frets. The nut also elevates the strings off the fretboard by a few millimeters so that you can play the ukulele by pressing down on the strings. The nut has small notches on it which keep the strings evenly spaced at the top of the ukulele. The nut is the small ridge in between the headstock and the fretboard that the strings rest on.
Want to know more about tuning the Ukulele? Check out our How to Tune the Ukulele article! Nut When you tune your ukulele from the tuner, you should unwind the tuner slightly first and then tune back up to the right note to avoid string breakages and over-stretching the string - this advice is particularly important for those ukes that have metal wound strings. Some tuners are geared, making them easier to turn, while others rely on friction (though this style of tuner is very rarely used on modern ukes). Tuners have lots of different names because of the various changes to their design over the past several hundred years. The top end of the string is threaded through the tuner and then the tuner is turned, causing the string to tighten or loosen, depending on what way you turn. Some tuners point backwards, and some point out the side depending on the style of your uke. These four pegs are located in the headstock of the ukulele, and as their name suggests they are used for tuning the strings. It needs to be quite strong to support the tension of the strings and the tuners. The headstock is usually made of a solid piece of wood or plastic. The headstock is also the part of the uke that is furthest away from the body of the ukulele. The headstock is the top of the ukulele - the part which holds the tuners.
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