Is Ukulele Easier to Learn than Guitar?

Yes, the Ukulele is much easier to learn compared to the guitar, and for many reasons.

1 – Fewer Strings

First, you only have 4 strings on a Ukulele compared to the 6 on a guitar, so chord patterns and the fretboard itself is much easier to learn.

2 – Smaller Instrument

Even more important for a beginner is that the Ukulele is a much smaller instrument. This means that the frets are closer, and the neck narrower, which results in way less finger-stretching and frustrations of reaching all notes when you play both chords and melodies.

3 – Less Physically Demanding

Finally, from a pure physical standpoint, the Ukulele simply requires way less muscle strength in your fingers, reach, dexterity etc. This is especially important for kids, elderly, and people with conditions like arthritis etc.

4 – Soft & Quiet

The sound of the Ukulele is quite soft and quiet, because it’s smaller, has less tension in the strings, and they are nylon which makes the sound more mellow.

This makes you able to practice more often, as you will not disturb family members or neighbours as much when playing the Ukulele compared to a Guitar.

5 – Easier Chords

The Ukulele is mainly a chord, rhythm and backing instrument. The same goes for the guitar, however the chord patterns are much easier to both learn and play on a Ukulele.

Even those dreaded “bar chords” will be possible to most beginners on the Ukulele, because of how little strength you need to push the strings compared to a bar chord on the Guitar.

Bonus – The Ukulele is Amazing for Backing your Singing

Now, the acoustic guitar is of course an excellent instrument to play chords on while you sing. The problem is that most people are not trained singers, and the guitar is a much louder instrument when you strum full chords on it.

Which means you need to really project your voice to be heard over the backing guitar. And this is especially tricky when you get to the lower notes of your vocal range.

Since the Ukulele is such a quiet and soft instrument, with way less volume than the guitar, and also have less harmonic range due to the fewer strings…you will easily be able to sing over the full chord rhythms you strum on it.

This will re-enforce your motivation to practice the Ukulele in my experience, since you will be able to both play your Ukulele (strum chords) and sing at the same time.

In fact, even as a complete beginner, after 1 month of daily practice you should be able to play your favorite songs on your Ukulele, and sing the lyrics at the same time. It’s that easy to get started on this amazing little instrument.

So I say go for it, you won’t regret it. And you can always get a guitar too further down the road of your journey in music! =)

Ukulele vs Guitar – Which is Easier to Learn?