does a tenor guitar = a baritone ukulele

Oh Wendy, Wendy, Wendy, that G-B interval is not a 3rd, it's a flattened 4th! ;) Just kidding! More below.

It's noteworthy that the guitar is the only chordophone of any significance in the Western tradition that uses more than 4 courses

Viols and the Renaissance Lute all had six courses and were tuned in fourths - with a third in the middle. The Lute later had many more courses but they all eventually died out but were revived at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Renaissance lute had six courses with all but the top string being doubled they were tuned in unison not octaves. The "Standard" tuning was G C F A d g. There were many variations but the pattern seemed to be mainly the same with intervals (from bottom to top) of 4th, 4th, 3rd, 4th, 4th. (cf guitar 4th, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 4th) though other variants were found. Lutenists seemed to be as willing as guitarists to experiment with and use a variety of tunings to suit the demands of the music. Renaissance Lute music was almost exclusively written in tablature. I did a "try a lute" session at an early music summer school I went to some years ago and we were playing from tablature. Lute tablature is slightly different from guitar/uke tablature but the principles are the same so it shouldn't be too difficult to adapt if you were interested.

A couple of sites suggested retuning the G string on a guitar to F# will give you the same pitch intervals as a lute. If you then put a capo on the 3rd fret, you get G C F A d g. If you take a uke tuned to Bb tuning then tune the 3rd string down a further semitone, you get the same tuning as the top four strings of the tuning above. As the extra two strings of a guitalele are bass strings a tenor scale guitalele should work OK in G C F A d g without having to buy special strings - should you be interested, that is.

Viol tuning uses the same set of intervals, D-G-c-e-a-d' for the bass viol with the treble viol the same an octave higher. The tenor viol is tuned G C F A d g like the lute. Again, there are other tunings and the bass viol sometimes has an additional low A string. Viols are fretted. I once tried a bass viol but I found my hand wasn't big enough to reach comfortably between the frets.

Ukeval who has contributed to the seasons plays renaissance music on a ukelele as well as playing lute.
 
Back to the original question. Just my 2 cents. I think, when it comes to the seasons, it should be a uke and not a ukefied instrument. That being said, I so want, want, want a tenor guitar :)
My tenor guitar story- I have always loved the close harmonies of the Delmore Brothers. They played guitar and tenor guitar (a rare combination). Listen to their instrumental playing - it's fabulous. So, I decided it was time for a tenor guitar (not that I could ever sound like Alton and Rabon but hey). So I logged onto Elderly Instruments and typed in "tenor guitar". A baritone uke appeared as I was searching. I asked myself- is a tenor guitar the same thing as a baritone uke?? Looked a lot like it and it was the only large four stringed instrument available at the moment. So I bought it. My Favilla baritone arrived a couple weeks later and I fell in love. While looking for info on my baritone uke I found the UU website and started hanging out. I dusted off my old Martin soprano and began tuning it GCEA (for 20 years I'd played in ADF#B- I thought that was standard tuning...) One thing led to another and here I am typing this story. All because I was looking for a tenor guitar and found a baritone uke instead.
 
Cool story Myrna. Did you ever get a tenor G?
Nope. I started buying ukes instead. I now have 3 baritones, 2 concerts, ???15??? sopranos (not all playable- some are just wall hangers) and three banjo ukes. No tenor ukes yet. If the right tenor guitar came along I'd consider buying it but right now I'm having fun with all my ukes.
 
Back to the original question. Just my 2 cents. I think, when it comes to the seasons, it should be a uke and not a ukefied instrument. That being said, I so want, want, want a tenor guitar :)

:) It's funny, since this thread started, even since I posted earlier, two of my ukulele playing friends bought tenor guitars (a 1930's Gibson and a 1932 Stella) and tuned them in chicago tuning (both decided on steel strings). Both sound great.

I'd say, if you have the $, do it. I loved mine. They were undervalued just a couple of years ago - so were tenor banjos - but those prices are starting to go up. Maybe other uke players are thinking along the same lines as you; it certainly seems that way! :)
 
bumping

because

guys, I just GOT one! :cool:

it's dgbe

and i'm upstrumming

and I like it!



I've brought my steel string, electric, solid body baritone uke (20 inch scale) to the seasons before... gosh nine times! more than I thought! eg. here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvAekPgpEco

this new baby, the tenor guitar, is a 23 inch scale

wanting it and choosing it and buying it, and tuning it and playing it how i do, was/is all an extension of my baritone uke-ing...

but I dunno if it would be welcome on the seasons, to me it's like a steel string bari, and i'd love to bring it, but technically it's a tenor geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetar and I dunno how people would feel about it
 
bumping

because

guys, I just GOT one! :cool:

it's dgbe

and i'm upstrumming

and I like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNuuMV7xxyI

I've brought my steel string, electric, solid body baritone uke (20 inch scale) to the seasons before... gosh nine times! more than I thought! eg. here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvAekPgpEco

this new baby, the tenor guitar, is a 23 inch scale

wanting it and choosing it and buying it, and tuning it and playing it how i do, was/is all an extension of my baritone uke-ing...

but I dunno if it would be welcome on the seasons, to me it's like a steel string bari, and i'd love to bring it, but technically it's a tenor geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetar and I dunno how people would feel about it


Haha! When you bumped this thread, I found myself reading Tootler's post and wondering why he'd suddenly jumped in after all this time. I only looked at the May 12 part of the date!

BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar / In my mind & in my heart, / you can't rewind, / you've come this far

As the proud owner of a 23"-scale baritone uke (it's a long-neck bari!! Just like you can get long-neck sops, sez I!), I feel your trepidation. My position (as always) is it's for whoever's hosting to decide. Leave it up to them. After all, it's their party.

*sings to fade* BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar / BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar / BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar

:smileybounce:
 
Birdy I'm gonna get you on that programme called 'Hoarders' , can you actually get through your front door with all those ukes now ? Lol

Back on topic, In very simplistic and untechnical terms I like a uke to sound like a uke and a guitar to sound like a guitar so the difference for me is the sound/tone. I started off with a baritone uke and it sounded too deep, much like a guitar for me.
Its all down to preference and I can appreciate and listen to any stringed Instrument played well.
 
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2 cents from a Seasons lurker:

There seems to be nothing purist about the Seasons--the rules seem made to be broken. There is also so much fusion among uke-makers that, if a U-bass or guitarlele can be considered a uke, why not anything else? The monstrosity called the banjo uke features regularly. Guitars, drum boxes, kazoos and whatnot frequently pop up in the clips as equal partners to ukes and uke-alikes. Ukes are electrified out of any semblance to the cozy, played in the shade plinkers that define uketivity.

Mainly, the seasons are about song sharing, creativity, testing your bounds and having fun. As long as you mention you're playing a bastard instrument, anyone who thinks the purity of Seasons is being defiled can just skip on to the next clip (and take a chill pill). Now get off my lawn.

I would mostly agree with this.

If in doubt, Thornton.
 
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So first of all, this was really fun revisiting this old thread, and my newbie tuning question tangent, and all the helpful answers I got, which I understand so much better now than I did then ... and Myrna's fun tenor-guitar-leading-to-uking story, the comparison video, and everything. All of it makes heaps more sense to me now than it did back then.

Secondly, congrats, Lynda, on your newest acquisition - it sounds great!

Third, okay, so I'm still pretty much a newbie, if only slightly less of one than then, but it seems to me, of course yes you can play it in the Seasons! It seems to me that anything uke-tuned is a whole lot closer to a ukulele than a u-bass or guitalele is - and people have featured those in Seasons videos without asking permission.

Plus, yeah, Thornton. I say go for it!

Plus, yeah baby, I wanna hear it!
 
I do think there is a certain point at which you're taking the piss.

Which is why I don't play my electric guitars.
 
*sings to fade* BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar / BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar / BEV-o-mu brought the tenor guitar
that's a beautiful song!


can you actually get through your front door with all those ukes now ?
no

but so long as i'm on the inside and can't get out, rather than on the outside and can't get it, it's cool!


a bastard instrument
everyone told its parents they were all wrong together................ but they DID get married ;)
 
2 cents from a Seasons lurker:

The monstrosity called the banjo uke features regularly.


Crushed I am .....simply ....crushed ........I own two ....monstrosities .....I'll have to tell them gently :(
 
Crushed I am .....simply ....crushed ........I own two ....monstrosities .....I'll have to tell them gently :(

I too own a monstrosity. It has a proper banjo body on to which is grafted a concert ukulele neck and it's LOUD and I love it. I don't play it very often because I really have to sing up for my voice to carry over it. It was made in China and is very well made with a good quality finish. It and my Uke'Ellie arethe most expensive ukes I own and the Uke'Ellie has the potential to be even louder. I really have to reign her in :)
 
I think you need to post us a tune, so we have some evidence to go on (and not be one little bit jealous, no not one little bit at all!)

Edit: Hey! Guess what I ran across on YT! Still want to hear from your National, John!



I liked that tenor best and I don't do reentrant.
 
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