Alternate tunings to give more range?

[eclecticbanjo]

I posted a reply on another thread but might have better luck with a new thread. Curious if anyone uses / if there are common other tunings to put the Uke in (besides low G tuning) to offer more range?

One notable classical ukuleleist tunes in fifths which offers a fifth more range than low G tuning. I’d be concerned with fretting stretches in fifths but it is a small neck…

 

[Wiggy]

5ths stretches are natural for GDAE on soprano scale. They're also no problem on a concert.
It is also manageable on tenor, but a tenor scale would have to be tuned a 5th lower in CGDA.

<edit >Here's a starting point for tenor scale restrung for viola C3-G3-D4-A4:
(Medium tension. All are D'Addario.)
A .024 NYL024
D .040 NYL040
G .028W NYL028W
C .036W NYL036W

 

[kypfer]

I have a "pineapple" soprano strung in fifths, using Aquila's set for the job, for when I want a "quiet mandolin" ... my baritone is also in fifths, an octave lower, as a tenor banjo substitute for those late evening sessions.
Coming from a history of chords on a guitar, neither instrument proves to be a problem, especially if used with a capo if necessary, and melodic range is over two octaves to the fifth fret ... I don't think I ever go above the seventh fret, where things start to get a bit cramped, but that's down to a choice of key as much as anything else

 

[anthonyg]

Are there other common tunings on a ukulele?
Yes there are.
There's low E and Low D.
Tenors can be tuned E,A,C#,F#, and standard tuning on a baritone ukulele is D,G,B,E.

What are you trying to achieve?

 

[eclecticbanjo]

I play classical music on my tenor ukulele and would like to add more range as well as have a tuning that is more conducive to sheet music originally written for violins and cellos and other more traditional classical instruments. I understand both are tuned in fifths. I would like to work on building my repertoire specifically with Bach’s Cello Suites and so am considering C3-G3-D4-A4 for my Uke which is the same as (just an octave above) a cello’s standard tuning.

 

[merlin666]

Yes fifth tuning is the way to go but you need a uke that can handle the extended range. I have a very nice concert scale with the Aquila CGDA set that I got set up with goal of learning fifths basics and I tried a few times but I think that the two wound strings are way too lumpy to produce pleasant enough sound and playing experience to make me come back to it.

 

[Wiggy]

Like Merlin said, try it, maybe you'll like it. My initial reaction on tenor was, it's better for picking where you can control how each string plays. When strumming with CGDA on a tenor, 4-string chords can get a bit congested and maybe a little too "big." I don't seem to get that feeling with GDAE on concert and soprano.

<edit> Ringing out arpeggios works fine in CGDA, though.

 

[eclecticbanjo]

Yes I should’ve mentioned that I do finger style, I don’t know anyone who plays classical music by strums/brushes alone. I have Aquila Red Series strings which they’ve somehow managed to make the wound low string without much size increase and the 3 other unwound strings have a nice tone to them too.

 

[Mike $]

Drop F tuning is kind of fun if you have a low G string on. Just tune the 4th string down to F. Your F chord will be 0010, your Bb will be 0211, and your C7 will be 2001. Having that Low F note can sound really cool.
If you have a normal g string on (or even if you don't), you can try open G tuning, the 1st and 4th strings are tuned to g. The 3rd string is tuned down a half step to B, and your E string is tuned down a whole step to D.

 

[ripock]

When I play classical music and need more range I just transpose by looking at the sheet music and finding the lowest note. Then I transpose 'til the lowest note is G

 

[eclecticbanjo]

When I play classical music and need more range I just transpose by looking at the sheet music and finding the lowest note. Then I transpose 'til the lowest note is G

That’s not adding more range to your uke, that’s transposing

I think I’ll pursue CGDA tuning for the Cello Suites though, tuned in fifths like a cello, just an octave higher.

 

[anthonyg]

That’s not adding more range to your uke, that’s transposing

I think I’ll pursue CGDA tuning for the Cello Suites though, tuned in fifths like a cello, just an octave higher.

I'm not convinced that 5th tuning is adding more range either, unless you are simply talking about range, just in the open position, and then, does a 5th's tuning instrument really have an "open position", equivalent to a standard ukulele anyway?

The "High" range of a ukulele becomes unmusical and unusable quickly, so to extend the practical range of a ukulele, you need to extend its lower range.
It's perfectly easy and practical to take a tenor ukulele down to E,A,C#,F#. Some people even take a Tenor down to D,G,B,E, or just buy a Baritone for D,G,B,E.

 

[eclecticbanjo]

I'm not convinced that 5th tuning is adding more range either, unless you are simply talking about range, just in the open position, and then, does a 5th's tuning instrument really have an "open position", equivalent to a standard ukulele anyway?

The "High" range of a ukulele becomes unmusical and unusable quickly, so to extend the practical range of a ukulele, you need to extend its lower range.

Confused by your post. You're not convinced that adding a 5th lower than low G tuning will add range? Then you go on to say that to extend range, you need to extend its lower range. Well, that's exactly what low C-G-D-A would do, unless you thought I was talking about a high-C tuning?

As for playing in open position, there really isn't very many situations in classical music where one plays only in open position for any noticeable length of time. However, the tuning does lend itself nicely to pieces in the keys of C, D, and G with its open notes. The low C sounds great on the tenor to boot.

 

[Wiggy]

I was just about to add: Viola CGDA extends lower to C3. (C3 is a 7th 5th below ukulele low G. The A string is tuned to the same pitch for viola and standard ukulele.)

 

[anthonyg]

Confused by your post. You're not convinced that adding a 5th lower than low G tuning will add range? Then you go on to say that to extend range, you need to extend its lower range. Well, that's exactly what low C-G-D-A would do, unless you thought I was talking about a high-C tuning?

As for playing in open position, there really isn't very many situations in classical music where one plays only in open position for any noticeable length of time. However, the tuning does lend itself nicely to pieces in the keys of C, D, and G with its open notes. The low C sounds great on the tenor to boot.

Really?
You have already gone low C below a baritone low D, on a Tenor? And it works?
Call me impressed if it works, and the practical range is still no better than tuning C,F,A,D, since playing the highest frets of the high string is pretty unmusical and impractical anyway.
Ukulele intonation is marginal at the best of times yet getting great intonation out of down tuned strings is another matter entirely.

 

[eclecticbanjo]

Really?
You have already gone low C below a baritone low D, on a Tenor? And it works?
Call me impressed if it works, and the practical range is still no better than tuning C,F,A,D, since playing the highest frets of the high string is pretty unmusical and impractical anyway.
Ukulele intonation is marginal at the best of times yet getting great intonation out of down tuned strings is another matter entirely.

I've yet to try CGDA on an actual piece but Daniel Estrem a well known stringed instruments players says he plays in fifths for some ( or all?) of his pieces on the tenor ukulele, this Prelude for one he's confirmed for me. I imagine it has a lot to what with what types of strings/gauges you use in order to determine intonation and timbre. The Aquila Red series sounds great for this particular tuning to me.

 

[Renaissance-Man]

I've yet to try CGDA on an actual piece but Daniel Estrem a well known stringed instruments players says he plays in fifths for some ( or all?) of his pieces on the tenor ukulele, this Prelude for one he's confirmed for me. I imagine it has a lot to what with what types of strings/gauges you use in order to determine intonation and timbre. The Aquila Red series sounds great for this particular tuning to me.

This is some seriously beautiful playing. I love his choice of music. Thanks for showcasing this prelude on ukulele. I'm fulfilled at the moment.

 

[anthonyg]

I've yet to try CGDA on an actual piece but Daniel Estrem a well known stringed instruments players says he plays in fifths for some ( or all?) of his pieces on the tenor ukulele, this Prelude for one he's confirmed for me. I imagine it has a lot to what with what types of strings/gauges you use in order to determine intonation and timbre. The Aquila Red series sounds great for this particular tuning to me.

Great playing. I'm not convinced its tuned that low though.
It's hard to say exactly, yet its not as low as a Baritone low D.
I't doesn't even seem to be as low as the low E on my E,A,C#,F# tuned tenor, although its not easy to judge.

 

[Wiggy]

Daniel Estrem's video might be tuned Eb3-Bb3-F4-C5. I have to listen again...

 

[Ondrej]

I use CGDA strings (aquila 31U) on the concert ukulele. Here's a sample. It has more range than the ukulele.



If you want to play Bach at the original pitch. You can make a Ukecello from a baritone ukulele.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgAsFDORpIRCjiJ-7lIPG2Q
Ukecello = Baritone ukulele tuning CGDA (C2G2D3A3). Same tuning as a cello.
String from "Pyramid 7String Classical Guitar Set I"
String B1 - tuning C2
String E2 - tuning G2
String A2 - tuning D3
string D3 - tuning A3
B3 Not used
E4 Not used