There are four main ukulele sizes: soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. These can be loosely catagorised by their scale length (i.e. the distance between the nut and the bridge – the part of the strings that you play).

Soprano Size: 33 cm / 13 inches
Concert Size: 38 cm / 15 inches
Tenor Size: 43 cm / 17 inches
Baritone Size: 48 com / 19 inches

The total length of the ukulele varies depending on the construction.

It’s an excellent video as he takes you through how to string ukuleles with slotted and peg headstocks and ukes with slotted bridges (where you have to create a knot to hold the string to the uke) and those where you have to tie the string around the bridge.

Judging from the white dot on the packet, I’m guessing that he’s using Aquila strings on his ukuleles.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to left handed ukulele playing. One school says that left handed people should just play the ukulele right handed – the thinking being that both hands are equally important. However, I’ve only seen that argument advanced by right handed people.

The alternative is to swap the order of the strings around. Because of the way the ukulele is strung, it shouldn’t require you to adjust the ukulele itself in any way. For the effort it takes to change the strings round, I think it’s worth doing it this way.

If you want know what order the strings should be in, I wrote about it here: how to string a ukulele.

There’s no getting around it, the way a ukulele is strung is absolutely ridiculous. But that’s what makes it such incredible instrument.

Almost all stringed instruments go from lowest string (thickest) to highest string (thinnest). Not the ukulele. The ukulele strings sizes go like this from nearest your head to nearest the ground:

G string: Second thinnest.
C string: Fattest.
E string: Second Fattest.
A string: Thinnest.

Anyone who has experience with string instruments will find this baffling. I certainly did. When I first bought a cheap ukulele and, being a guitarist, was completely ignorant, I changed the order of the strings. Now I’m much wiser and know that this is the only way to have your strings.

The best quality ukulele strings around are Aquila and Worth.