Did I make a mistake?!

KTCobra

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My wife and I bought our first ukes the other day. She went with a soprano while I went with a baritone.
We want to practice together, but I'm finding out that that may be much harder being that I am COMPLETELY new to stringed instruments and that there isn't NEARLY the amount of helpful material for the baritone as there is for the lower three.

Any advice? After doing a little research here, I think I've decided to go with a concert being that I want a little deeper sound than my wife's uke and also because my hands aren't the biggest.

Any information would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks
 
Its no mistake. Its ok to have multiple instruments.
As you mentioned the smaller ukuleles have tones on learner material so its easier to start there.
Decent starter ukuleles are very affordable too.

Being able to play and learn with someone else is super fun.
My wife and I enjoy playing together in the evenings after our chores are done.
 
If you like that bari, you can get strings to tune it GCEA, just like your wife's. Can always go back to bari tuning if you want with string change. Nothing wrong with having one high pitched and one low pitched uke.
 
I would take it back if you can and trade it on the concert. You will both be on the same page then, when it comes to learning how to play.
 
I say keep your Baritone for the future and when you get better it'll provide a nice variety. And buy a decent Concert or even Tenor (you can have either stringed like her Soprano in high G). The reality is, IMO, you can play with her in either High G or Low G. Timing and intonation will make for a very harmonious duo.
 
I say keep your Baritone for the future and when you get better it'll provide a nice variety. And buy a decent Concert or even Tenor (you can have either stringed like her Soprano in high G). The reality is, IMO, you can play with her in either High G or Low G. Timing and intonation will make for a very harmonious duo.

I'll agree with this! If you can afford it, hang on to the baritone. It will find it's place in the scheme of things in the not too distant future and you'll be glad of the variety it gives you when duetting.

You'll soon find out why a lot of us have multiple instruments ;)
 
I guess that you're not the first person to make this mistake as a thread from a year or so ago gives you some help around it. See: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?122736-Tuning-Baritone-Uke-to-GCEA.

As a quick fix I'd suggest investigating a capo, after that I'd try replacement strings. By all means buy a smaller size but maybe wait a while to decide which scale length suits your hands best. The islander Ukes have their strings (not frets) spaced a little more widely apart and that makes it easier to play the shorter scale instruments if you've got big fingers.
 
Capo at the 5th fret is the quickest fix (though strings settling in is kind of a hassle especially with a capo in the mix).
But it does sound nice with the mix of big (baritone) with small (soprano).
Otherwise buy a 3rd Ukulele in Concert size (feed your UAS!)
 
I think the concert scale is best for beginners, so start with that, then you can switch to the bari later when you want a deeper tone.

There aren't many that stick with just the one uke, it's known as UAS, & you will likely catch it sooner or later. :)
 
Thanks for the info and suggestions everyone. I went ahead and ordered a concert uke but also ordered some Aquila GCEA strings for my bari just in case.

Quick question:
Did I misunderstand? - can you play the bari as though you're playing a concert and it sound Okay?
Don't know how due to the tuning being different. Sorry for the SUPER noobie question. I know nothing about stringed instruments.

Now I'm off to post another topic! :p
 
I feel like Baris put me at a disadvantage. The concert just feels so much more natural. Maybe that is what you're experiencing? Have you played on your wife's?
 
I think buying a Baritone ukulele is always a mistake.

Discuss.
 
A baritone can be played as if it were a normal gcea, but it will be lower notes, (a C will be a G etc), or it can be capoed on the 5th fret, then it will play the same notes just sounding deeper. Else you can change the strings. :)
 
I think buying a Baritone ukulele is always a mistake.

Discuss.

i just put my bari in re-entrant tuning with Southcoast LHU-W3 strings and am working on campanella. It's moody and mellow and perfect for Fall. So my vote is not a mistake. :)
 
Thanks for the info and suggestions everyone. I went ahead and ordered a concert uke but also ordered some Aquila GCEA strings for my bari just in case.

Quick question:
Did I misunderstand? - can you play the bari as though you're playing a concert and it sound Okay?
Don't know how due to the tuning being different. Sorry for the SUPER noobie question. I know nothing about stringed instruments.

Now I'm off to post another topic! :p

You can play a baritone as if it is a concert, or soprano or tenor. Using the chords played on those others will still give you the same chord progressions and sound recognizable. It will sound deeper and be in a different key so you "can't" play along with your wife this way because you will not be in the same key, you will sound different or off compared to her.

Congratulations on the purchase of a new concert, the two of you will make beautiful music together. Save the baritone for further musical exploration. I bought a baritone after one year of playing tenor and I did not warm up to it right away, played it on and off. But as time went on I grew to like the sound more and more and now I love the deep mellow tone as a change of pace from the bright GCEA tuning.
 
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I think that trying to turn a baritone into anything other than a baritone is a tough way for a beginner to start. Someone with some knowledge and experience on the other hand, probably a fun little diversion. I mean, it can be done, as a few have mentioned here. But to come in to it with no background or experience, then having to re-string your uke, re-tune it, and then you still have a baritone, I just think that would just make things harder than they need to be.
 
I've had my baritone for a long time, but haven't played any of my ukes for a while. I've been doing my banjos mostly. But now I'm using my baritone to learn fingerstyle better. I have it tuned Lo - D GBD to match one of my banjos, and because I wanna use it with a slide later. I've even been thinking about a tenor guitar, but the ones I've looked at are tuned Lo - G DAE (I think) which wouldn't meet my needs.

Anyway, baritones are great if one likes the low tones as I do. It wouldn't hurt hanging on to it until you learn more, KT. :eek:ld:
 
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Quick answer - yes, KT, one can play a baritone like any other uke, but the key will be different. Playing C chords gives one the key of F, F = Bb, G -= C, D = G, E = A, and A = D.

If one is playing solo, it just don't matter. It'll sound fine (mebbe) - have fun. :eek:ld:
 
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