About the size of Ukulele

Four sizes of ukuleles are common: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. There are also less common sopranino and bass ukuleles at the extreme ends of the size spectrum.

The soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the smallest, and the original size ukulele. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The largest size is the baritone, created in the 1940s.

Type	Scale length	Total length	Tuning (Helmholtz notation)
soprano or standard	13" (33 cm)	21" (53 cm)	g'c'e'a' or a'd'f#'b'
concert	15" (38 cm)	23" (58 cm)	g'c'e'a' or gc'e'a'
tenor	17" (43 cm)	26" (66 cm)	gc'e'a', g'c'e'a', or d'gbe'
baritone	19" (48 cm)	30" (76 cm)	dgbe'

Choosing the Best Ukulele for Beginners
Soprano ukulelesare the most common size of ukulele and the most likely to make the classic "plinky" ukulele sound that most people associate with the instrument. The soprano ukulele is about 20-21 inches long, and is a good size for a child or someone with smaller hands (although many players with larger hands play soprano ukes with no problem). Soprano ukuleles can be bought cheaply, and a good one can be had - usually with a gig bag included - for about $30-50. Beware, though, of really cheap souvenir soprano ukuleles with Hawaiian scenes painted on them. They are more for displaying than playing.

Concert ukuleles, at about 23-24 inches long, are the next size up from the soprano and deliver the classic ukulele sound with a little more room to maneuver on the fretboard. They are also a little louder than sopranos, which is why they are good for concert playing.

Tenor ukuleles are 26-27 inches long and are even louder than the concert ukulele. Tenor ukuleles are usually the ukulele of choice for professional players. It's important to note, however, that tenor ukuleles are sometimes strung with a low-G string instead of the traditional high-G string, which adds more bass (because the G is an octave lower) but sounds less like a traditional ukulele.

Baritone ukuleles are the largest of the ukulele sizes, and are different from the three smaller sizes in an important way. Whereas soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles are tuned GCEA (the classic "my dog has fleas" tuning), baritone ukuleles are often tuned DGBE - the same tuning as the bottom 4 strings of the guitar.

Many ukulele players don't even consider the baritone a true ukulele for that reason, but the guitar-like tuning makes the baritone a great choice for people who want to try the ukulele and then transition to learning guitar or those who already know guitar and want to learn ukulele