Guitaleles

As the name suggest, a Guitalele is basically a hybrid of a guitar and a ukulele – although this perhaps does it a disservice as it really is a wonderful instrument in its own right. It is considerably smaller than a standard guitar, yet far bigger than a standard ukulele, and similar in size and scale to a baritone ukulele. It is typically tuned to ADGCEA.

Why should a ukulele player buy a guitalale?

The skills which you develop thorough learning and playing a ukulele are immediately transferable when playing a guitalele. As mentioned earlier, the standard tuning is ADGCEA, so it is basically the same as a ukulele tuning but with two extra base strings. Of course, it will take time to become accustomed to the two extra strings, but it is easier to handle than a standard-sized guitar and with practice the transition from uke can be made and can prove very rewarding.

As Barry Maz wrote in his Got a Ukulele review of the Noah Guitalele, “If you are enjoying the ukulele you might very well enjoy this and use it as a first step towards dabbling with the guitar too”. 

Why should a guitarist buy a guitalele?

The most obvious reason is the ease in which it can be transported – have you ever tried taking an acoustic guitar on a plane?! A guitalele is great because you can take it anywhere and that makes it a fantastic option as a travel guitar. In terms of playing, the tuning means that it is essentially the same as playing an acoustic guitar with a capo on the fifth fret so all your regular chord shapes will still be useful.

So, if you’re looking for something different, then perhaps it’s worth considering a guitalele 🙂