A couple of days ago I got this question from one of my readers: “Can you please identify the different types of straps available and the pros/cons of each.” To which I say, “Absolutely.”

One might think, ‘A strap is a strap is a strap,’ but that’s not strictly true. People have devised a multitude of ways to attach instruments to their bodies.

Kinds of Straps : a Partial List

• You can find a standard ‘guitar-style’ strap at any music store. These are usually rather wide for ukuleles (a small and light instrument). If you can find this style of strap with a narrow width, like this 1-inch wide strap, they are great. They do require you to have two strap buttons installed on your ukulele, but they hold your instrument securely to your body and it is easy to use your hands when teaching, talking, expressing to your audience and even allow you to swing the instrument around to your back when walking to and fro. My own paracord ukulele strap design is basically a standard strap made of paracord.
• Some people take a standard strap and put a shoe-string through one of the end holes to tie under the strings above the nut. This means you only have to install one strap button at the base of the lower bout. I am not personally fond of having one of the anchor points above the nut, as to me it partially defeats the purpose of having a strap at all. With this configuration you will still have to juggle your instrument a bit as it tries to move toward the ground under the force of gravity.
• The extra-long boot lace is another option for a lot of do-it-yourself folk. You tie one end around the waist of the ukulele (doesn’t work with pineapple-style ukes) and the other above the nut. I’m not a fan for the same reason above; this is still a juggler’s solution.
• The classical-style strap is basically a lanyard with a j-hook on the end which hooks into your sound hole. For someone not wanting to add strap buttons to their ukulele, I think this is a fantastic option and have used them with my Ukulele Youth group. Jake Shimabukuro sells his own variation on this design that will set you back the cost of a cheap ukulele. One of the key advantages of the classical design is that you get support for your instrument in a well-balanced location, but the instrument is not held rigidly against your body. There’s plenty of opportunity with one of these straps to get the most out of your instrument’s natural acoustics. The reason I do not use one of these myself is that you have to keep your hands on your ukulele. If you let go, the uke will flip over, fall off the hook and tumble to the ground. As a teacher, this is not practical for me.

These seem to me to be the main categories of strap, but other strap designs are abundantly available.

• The Hug Strap is a fancy, much prettier version of the bootlace.
• The Uke Leash is another, minimalist variant of the bootlace with a twist.
• 4uke J-hook Strap is one of the coolest hybrid designs I’ve seen. It’s a classical strap that looks like a traditional strap. I love that you don’t have to put it around your neck.
• DIY options abound as well. Just search for ‘DIY Ukulele Strap‘ and you’ll come up with tons of options (mostly based on similar design ideas).

Whether you choose to use a strap or go strapless, hopefully that will give you a better idea of some of the options available out there. If you come across a really cool and unique strap design out there, please let me know by leaving a comment … I’d love to feature it in the future.

Post filed under All UkulelePlay! Blog Posts.