The guitalele is a fairly new instrument with Yamaha making the world’s first guitalele parts in 1997. I personally think this little guitar is underestimated. It works perfectly as both a travel guitar and a children’s guitar – if your child wants to learn to play guitar, it’s a good instrument to start with. Over time, the child can switch to a larger guitar.
The instrument does not take up much space, making it ideal for travel. Read more about the instrument and see which guitaleles I recommend below.
Top 5 Best Guitaleles
Best acoustic guitalele
Best electric guitalele
Best baritone guitalele
What is a guitalele?
A guitalele is a mix of a tenor ukulele and a guitar. It has the size of the ukulele and the 6 strings of the guitar.
The instrument is tuned to ADGCEA, whereas a traditional guitar is tuned to EADGBE. With a ukulele tuned GCEA, you will be able to play on the 4 highest strings of the guitalele like it was an ukulele.
The fretboard is usually 49 millimeters wide at the first fret. And it’s actually wider than a Fender Stratocaster. However, it is narrower than a traditional classical guitar. Normally, the guitalele has between 16 and 18 frets, and the instrument uses plain guitar nylon strings (just cut some off the length).
The first guitalele was built in 1997 by Yamaha. Since then, several brands have begun to build the instrument. At first, the instrument was not very popular but, since the ukulele has become very popular in recent years, people have also begun to play the guitalele. Personally, I have a guitalele because I think it’s a fun instrument. I also use it as a travel guitar.
Test winner: Yamaha GL1
Whether you are a beginner in the field or an expert, it’s always best to get advice when buying a new instrument. I have been playing music (including guitar, ukulele and guitalele) for over 10 years now and therefore know the market. Right now, the most versatile guitalele is the Yamaha GL1. It is a classic. It is the first guitalele ever made but it is still one of the best ones available. The sound is great and the quality is top notch. Included in the price you also get a bag to transport the instrument in! Value for money. I can highly recommend this instrument.
Guitale tuning
The instrument is tuned ADGCEA. The 3 highest strings are tuned as on a ukulele (although the fourth string (G) is tuned one octave lower).
The easiest way is to tune a guitalele is to use an electronic tuner or an online tuner. If you have a guitar, you can put a capo on the 5th fret and tune the guitalele to the guitar (note, the guitalele will sound an octave higher than the guitar).
If you use a guitar tuner with scientific notation (that means your tuner not only shows the tone you are playing. It also shows a number along with the tone. For example, A3), it makes the tuning easier. Here is the guitalele’s scientific notations. Use them to tune your instrument:
A4, E4, C4, G3, D3, A2.
Another way to tune your guitar is by frequency. The frequencies of the Guitalele are (starting with 1st string first):
440 Hz, 329.62 Hz, 261.62 Hz, 196 Hz, 146.84 Hz, 110 Hz.
By the way, it is not recommended to tune the instrument the same way as a traditional guitar tuning (EADGBE). Your strings will either be too lax or too tense.
Guitalele chords
The chords look different on a guitalele. At least if you want to play them so they sound just like the guitar. Below is a simple guitalele chord chart:
Can I play the same on a guitalele as on a guitar?
The most simple answer is: yes, you can. A guitalele is tuned in the same intervals as the guitar, but has a much lighter sound. Everything will sound a fourth higher (musical intervals). What you play on the instrument is a fourth higher than on the guitar. Basically, this means that if you put a capo on the 5th fret on a guitar. Then it will correspond to what you play on a guitalele without a capo.
Guitalele or guitarlele?
In English, the instrument is spelled guitalele. So we just forget the last -r, which some think exists.
Are you sitting thinking about whether you can play anything properly on a guitalele at all? Because I guarantee, you can! See the well-known guitarist, Sungha Jung, play on the instrument here:
Good luck with the purchase of the instrument.
