Bb TUNING:

JJFN

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My trigger finger has expanded from my middle finger left hand to my ring finger left hand. So until I see my hand doctor, I changed to a Bb tuning. A nice mellow sound and a lot easier to fret. I will probably continue to tune my Koaloha Tenor at this setting. Anybody else use the Bb tuning?
 
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Hi JJ, I have found that the lower Bb tuning worked really well on a tenor-scale Fluke. Just seemed to get a really nice silky tone out of it that way. I also tried the Bb tuning on the Ohana model that has a tenor-scale neck married to a soprano body, but it didn't work as well with that particular uke. But overall, I think the Bb tuning is worth at least taking for a test drive on any tenor!
 
All my tenors are tuned Bb. Also am using Bb on my new 16" concert and it sounds wonderful.
 
Bb tuning on a tenor sounds and works great.
 
All the time, A tuning also. Whatever suits the individual ukulele, that's the way I tune, there are no rules.

I agree with Campbell . Choose the tuning best for the individual uke. I keep tenors in C, B and Bb.
 
I have a 19" scale baritone set at Bb and it is very nice for my voice.
 
My tenor is currently tuned in re-entrant Bb, too. I'm undecided yet whether I prefer it to low-G, but I do like the lower tension better. I think it's also louder. I'll likely leave the tenor in Bb.
 
My trigger finger has expanded from my middle finger left hand to my ring finger left hand.

JJFN,

I am not a doctor, but with trigger finger, aren't you supposed to give your hand a rest until it is treated?
 
JJFN,

I am not a doctor, but with trigger finger, aren't you supposed to give your hand a rest until it is treated?

Having suffered from trigger finger myself, I can say that resting it is easier said than done! It is also not always effective so it's pretty tough to just give up your main hobby indefinitely, easier psychologically to find a workaround.
 
Quote Originally Posted by JJFN View Post
My trigger finger has expanded from my middle finger left hand to my ring finger left hand.
Having suffered from trigger finger myself, I can say that resting it is easier said than done! It is also not always effective so it's pretty tough to just give up your main hobby indefinitely, easier psychologically to find a workaround.

I've cut back on my playing and increased my ibuprofen. As Pirate Jim said, easier said than done. Thanx everyone for the advice.
 
I'm confused. So those of you who are in Bb tuning do you play with other people? Do you use chord charts or tabulatura and just play as the key that it's written in but you're really playing in Bb tuning. So your F shape would be an Eb? Are you using that tuning as a permanent reverse Capo? Do you transpose songs?

I think of the keys of F & Bb as the most natural to ukulele. Bb is the first closed position chord. My voice often prefers those keys, or G minor which is relative minor to Bb. I like to play with other people who don't play ukulele. Guitar players often can't play in the key of F and B flat makes their eyes roll back in their head. But I usually stick to my key anyway. If I were to tune into Bb my head would really spin with transposing. Are any of you doing that -- transposing?

I tried Bb tuning on my concert and it didn't do anything for it. Sounds like some of you do it to reduce tenor tension which I don't have. I just have tension:rolleyes:
 
@rubykey - All the above :) see the link to post #8. Bb tuning gives a lot of options, even for playing with others. You do have to worry about transposing but I try to do it "ahead of time" so that while playing I am not transposing in my head - if that make sense
 
I've been playing for two years and when I first started, all my tenors were tuned in Bb. It is a great sound but eventually I went back to C because it's a little more difficult to keep chords in tune. I play fingerstyle and alone so the key change doesn't affect me. On the finger pain problem, I've been having that problem with my right hand middle and ring finger. I took a few days rest, cut back on the time spent playing when I did start playing again and bought a wrist brace for carpal tunnel and one week later I feel much better. Still not 100% but a vast improvement.
 
@rubykey - All the above :) see the link to post #8. Bb tuning gives a lot of options, even for playing with others. You do have to worry about transposing but I try to do it "ahead of time" so that while playing I am not transposing in my head - if that make sense

Thanks Jim that was great! All of my questions answered in your blog post.
But since I don't play tenor now I want to find high tension strings for a concert and tune them down. Just to play with all those options. And also to justify having so many instruments:music: :music: :music:
 
If you like to keep a tension similar to C tuning I tried a combination Tomastik-Infeld CF35 CF30 with the 2 first strings of the Oasis treble high tension set (guitar), and it sounds and feel great on a 17" scale. I guess it would be ok on a concert as well.
 
@rubykey - All the above :) see the link to post #8. Bb tuning gives a lot of options, even for playing with others. You do have to worry about transposing but I try to do it "ahead of time" so that while playing I am not transposing in my head - if that make sense

Thanks Jim that was great! All of my questions answered in your blog post.
But since I don't play tenor now I want to find high tension strings for a concert and tune them down. Just to play with all those options. And also to justify having so many instruments:music: :music: :music:

I always keep a (mando) capo with my Bb-tuned tenor, in case anyone not used to Bb-tuning wants/needs to borrow it. Yes, you lose two frets by tuning to Bb and capo-ing at the 2nd (to return to C-tuning); but you're never going to run out of frets on a tenor uke, are you? :)
 
I always keep a (mando) capo with my Bb-tuned tenor

I agree a capo is a must have if you're going to play with others or with recordings. Being able to capo at the 2nd for C tuning or capo at 1st for "minus one"use (e.g. for key of E or B with guitarists) gives a lot of options to find a comfy key.
 
I agree a capo is a must have if you're going to play with others or with recordings. Being able to capo at the 2nd for C tuning or capo at 1st for "minus one"use (e.g. for key of E or B with guitarists) gives a lot of options to find a comfy key.

Yes. :agree: Generally speaking, I just transpose on the fly, regardless of who or what I'm playing with (I often find myself at multi-instrument acoustic jam sessions, where the tunes flow so thick and fast you don't have time to be fiddling [fiddling? ha! see what I did there?!] about with a capo between numbers); but, as you rightly say, a 1st-fret capo on a Bb-tuned uke is very convenient for songs in the keys of E or B.

And (in my experience, YMMV, of course), gCEA on a Bb-tuned tenor capoed to C still sounds better than a tenor tuned to C at the nut.
 
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