![]() ![]() ![]() In practical terms, it’s quite possible to tune most of your ukuleles to either configuration, including the soprano, concert and tenor. See my separate article on using a ukulele capo! Pro Tip: If you want to achieve ADF#B, but without having to retune your ukulele, the simplest solution is to capo your instrument at the second fret. If you look at the sheet music from that particular period, you’ll discover everything is transcribed for ADF#B and not the modern standard of GCEA. It’s also ideal for reproducing music from the jazz age. ADF#B gives you open D6 or ‘D’ tuning and is favored by some ukulele players who want a slightly lighter and more percussive tone on their ukes. That’s not to say you have to rigidly remain in GCEA forever.Īn equally viable option and one dating back to the twenties and thirties from the last century, is pitched a whole tone up (or two semitones, whichever way you look at it!). It’s what most beginners are taught and the tuning featured in the vast majority of ukulele songbooks and instructional guides. Modern day standard tuning, for most purposes, is going to be GCEA (C6 or ‘C’ Tuning). In contrast to the above questions, the tuning of your soprano and concert ukes is very much down to personal preference. Soprano vs Concert Ukulele Tuning Differences But be prepared for the odd string breakage, if it doesn’t work out. Still, you won’t lose very much by giving it a go. Having never felt the need to deviate from standard C or alternative D tunings, in the main, for the smaller members of the ukulele family (other than the sopranino and sopranissimo), I’m not going to pin my colors to the mast and claim DGBE is possible, or for that matter, desirable. My only suggestion, if you really want to pursue this particular tuning is to purchase a set of charango strings, such as the Nylgut strings made by Italian manufacturers, Aquila (you can usually get them at Amazon).Ĭharangos have the additional high ‘E’ string on their first and second unison pairings, so you could utilize one of the strings for the high E for the first string. I’d even query high DGBE which is more suitable on the smaller soprano uke and above. No, you can’t tune a concert ukulele like a bariton, if you want to achieve low DGBE. This is a more direct question in comparison to the above query, but essentially my answer will be the same. Can You Tune a Concert Ukulele Like a Baritone? The much smaller members of the ukulele family, the sopranino and sopranissimo are suitable candidates for the high octave version of DGBE, but standard tunings are there for a purpose and not just based on some arbitrary tuning configuration. There’s always some leeway either way, but as a general rule, it’s wise to stick to the string manufacturer’s recommendations. That’s why every string is given a specific gauge for a set tuning. Going the other way, if you try to tune your instrument beyond the maximum stretching point of the strings, you’ll very likely be ordering a replacement after it breaks. A loose string will never resonate as successfully as one which has the correct tension applied to it. This is a slightly simplistic analysis, but generally, this is the case with most instruments, apart from octave strings on instruments such as 12-string guitars and Irish bouzoukis.Īt a pinch you might be able to tune your concert uke up an octave to high DGBE, but the standard lower tuning is very unlikely to be achievable or your strings will almost certainly be too loose to retain any decent timbre or tuning stability. As a rough rule of thumb, the longer the scale, the longer and deeper sounding your strings have to be. The scale length is the measurement from the nut (the white or cream colored slotted bar which resides between the headstock and the top of the fretboard) and the bridge/saddle arrangement. The problem with trying to tune a concert uke to what is a designated tuning for the much bigger baritone ukulele, has to do with the scale length of the instrument.
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