Why are ukuleles tuned the way they are

The book is "The Daily Ukulele Fakebook by Jim Beloff" purchased from recommendation sight unseen -- first song is "Are you lonesome tonight? The B at the 2nd fret on the A string is what is suggested in the book, but it sounds odd to my ear since it isn't the correct octave as written and I can't get that 1st inversion triad melody up to the root G chord in this case out of my head : So, is a lower G the solution?

I decided to work on it in A , using C as the first note on the 3rd string so that line is ascending as my ear wants to hear it. I think it is the high re-entrant G on the soprano that is causing the issue. A soprano uke is not really the instrument for a low G - its possible but better suited to the larger instruments in the family. Please leave me a comment! Want To Say Thank You? If you are a new player you may see references to "re-entrant" tuning when it comes to ukulele - but what does that mean?

Always tune every time you sit down and play. Older strings, or strings that have had time to stretch, tend to hold tuning better than brand new strings. This is normal. That said, watch out for old strings too. Secondly, not all strings respond the same way to your ukulele. I tried these same strings on my ukulele but ran into all sorts of issues with them holding pitch, even after the break-in stretching period.

Different strings respond differently to different sizes of ukuleles, tuners, bridges, and nuts. All of these things affect the tuning more on that later. That means you need to try out different strings over time. Oh, and lastly, make sure you have the right string set for the size of your ukulele figure out your ukulele size here. You might have issues with tuning or risk damaging your ukulele. As a rule of thumb, if you have a ukulele made out of solid wood i.

A slight change in temperature can also affect the tuning. Again, you can mitigate this by storing the instrument in the case making it faster to tune up next time you play. Even if you store your uke in a case, you should always tune your ukulele when you sit down to play. As you can see, the bottom string or first string is tuned to an A. The second string is tuned to an E. The third string is tuned to a C , and the fourth string or top string of the ukulele is tuned to a G.

In this way, the bottom line of the figure represents the top string of the ukulele; likewise, the top line represents the bottom string of the ukulele. From the top to bottom string, see how a ukulele is tuned on the music staff. Notice that the top g-string 4th string is tuned higher than the middle two strings — the top gstring is tuned to a G-note above middle C on a piano.

This is why it is called reentrant tuning. This tuning is part of what makes the ukulele have that bright and charming sound. Reentrant tuning gives you the most even tone because the strings are kept in a smaller range.

However, some ukulele players prefer to tune the g-string down an octave to play in low G ukulele tuning learn how to tune to low G tuning , sometimes referred to as linear tuning because the strings are arranged from lowest to highest. Not only do you get a broader range with low G tuning but some might consider the sound to be a more full and resonant. Warning: Please note if you want to tune your ukulele to low G you will need a special set of low G ukulele strings based on your size of ukulele.

Do not try to tune a high-g ukulele string down an octave because it will not sound pleasing! If this is the case, order a chromatic tuner as soon as possible or download a chromatic tuner app on your smartphone.

The sooner you do this the easier it is to tune! Still though, learning how to tune your ukulele by ear is a handy skill and is a great exercise in training your ear to detect differences in pitch. To tune your ukulele by ear, listen to the pitches as a point of reference for tuning your ukulele.

Then, play the top g-string audio. As the sound is playing, hum the note and get it in your head. Do this before plucking any strings on your ukulele. Now, get this pitch in your head. If the pitch of the plucked string is higher than the pitch of the sound playing on the tuner, that means the string on your ukulele is sharp.

If the pitch of the plucked string is lower than the pitch of the sound playing on the tuner, that means the strings on your ukulele is flat. As both sounds are ringing, turn your tuning pegs on your ukulele to match the two pitches. When the pitches are matching, the warbly sound will be gone and the two sounds will ring smoother against each other like this:.

This will allow you to follow along with me. Learning to play ukulele is going to feel awkward at first, so embrace it and press through it.

You can do this! If that is the case, then, you will need to re-string your strings in the opposite order and tune accordingly. Do not flip the ukulele around or play it upside down. Baritone tuning is used on baritone ukuleles and sometimes even on tenor ukuleles. This ukulele tuning is equivalent to the tuning of the last four strings on a guitar. If you have a baritone ukulele and wish to follow along with my lessons, follow this guide here.

This tuning is popular for soprano ukuleles or banjoleles. Some find this tuning to be a bit sweeter in tone. Canadian tuning is nearly identical to English tuning except you tune the top a-string down an octave. This tuning is popular for concert and tenor ukuleles. As a general rule of thumb, plan to change your ukulele strings every three months or so with regular daily playing. Old ukulele strings begin to sound duller and not as lively.

Every ukulele responds differently to different strings, so I recommend to experiment and have fun with it! See which strings sound best on your ukulele. Discover how to make music on the ukulele even if you've never played an instrument in your life with the free Learn To Play Ukulele Today video lesson course.

Join the course and get four lessons with 14 step-by-step videos that have helped thousands make music for the first time. Enter your details:. I like the low G sound on it too much, although sometimes I wish I had a concert or soprano uke for that reentrant sound. I set my pitch at instead of on all strings so I get on the A string. Do I have to get a different G string? Keith, most people find that a different G string works a lot better.

I have a wound G string verses a nylon string. This helps keep tension on the string. The best thing to do is tune your G all the way down an octave and give it a try. Hope this helps! All the ukes and guitars and pianos are using it. Newbie question. Also, do they ever stop stretching? I just keep cranking them back into tune. I think I have seen some string sets out there that are created for a whole step up, but they seem to be hard to track down.

Strings will always stretch and change a little bit depending on the temperature and humidity. For me, I always like to tune my ukulele before I pick it up and play it, even though my ukulele holds pretty good tune. I always tune my Makala before playing also. Seems to work pretty well. The stock strings seem to have an infinite amount of stretch, but they seem to stay in relative tune fairly well.

Thanks again for you reply! As you might have guessed I am totally new to this! Hey Danielle, ahhh yes, sometimes tuning can make you break a string.

Especially drastic tuning like a low G tuning. The best thing to do is to get a special low G tuning string set. The chord positions will be the same for English tuning, but the pitch will sound a whole step up, because you are tuned up a whole step. Does that make sense? Good stuff, as ever! Hence the fact that so many ukulele chords are the same shape as guitar chords without the lowest two strings…. You talk about being able to have a ukelele in tune with itself — I have a makala soprano?

Is this a generic fault with the makala, or have I got a bad one? My daughter is playing it, I have close to perfect pitch, and the out of tune chords are driving me crazy. I imagine that this is an intonation issue with the Makala ukulele. Some cheaper ukuleles have these sorts of issues. If you have a decent year, this will drive you crazy. Whenever I have an intonation issue, sometimes I hold down the strings at the 3rd fret and tune those, since usually you notice these intonation issues when you are playing chords and holding down notes.

Best of luck! Hey Alisa, you might try putting new strings to see if that helps with the tuning. Hi, I have a question regarding tuning but can not find an answer, so I give it a try here… My ukulele is tuned in the English A,D,F ,G,B But why do no one tune up the F into a G, then you will have the same tuning as a guitar except the E-strings.

I found this easier since I have played guitar before. Is there anything that is wrong with this? I say tune it that way and see what you think! Hi, thanks for your quick replay. Yes, my idea is to tune up the F half step to G than I can play the chord pattern in the same way as on the guitar except the high and low E. I will give it a try. Thank you! You can use my free online ukulele tuner to tune your baritone ukulele. If you can, I recommend purchasing a set of strings in standard tuning designed for baritone ukuleles.

Warren, thanks for the comment! I have never used pitch pipes to tune my ukulele. I prefer the ease and accuracy of a chromatic tuner. Say I do change to low G, then some of the chords will actually be inverted, eg. Does that make much difference? Clearly the uke would have a lower range, but some of the chords would also sound slightly different in their bass note as well. If I had a concert, I would probably keep it in standard tuning, but this is because I have a tenor ukulele right now.

I did end up switching my tenor back to standard because I found that some chord shapes sounded weird because they were inverted chords. After a couple weeks, give the standard string set a try and see which one you like better. Asked 6 years, 4 months ago. Active 10 months ago. Viewed 12k times. Improve this question.

Tim H. Tim H Tim H 4, 3 3 gold badges 31 31 silver badges 52 52 bronze badges. I don't subscribe to all of the given reasons, but some of those here are interesting: forum. It just sounds wrong. MatthewRead Very interesting essay found from the link you gave: web. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Update: The ukulele only dates from the s, but it is descended from the Portuguese guitar brought to Hawaii by Portuguese traders and colonizers which is, in turn, descended from the Baroque guitar.

Improve this answer. Shaan 54 4 4 bronze badges. That's really interesting. Could you give an example? The open E and A strings gives a nice open ringing sound. But I'm playing in Bb so if the other chords work I'll capo at the first fret and voice the chord on the 6th fret.