Trying to Play in "G." Ukes and Capos?

[musiccityuker]

I'm Fairly new to ukes. I have good friends who play banjo, mandolin, and guitar. They're accomplished musicians. They play EVERYTHING in the key of "G." I have a "C" tuned concert uke. If I use a capo... i have to move down to the 7th fret to play in "G." Doesn't work... sounds like a uke on helium. Not much better on my teno uke. Any better solution? Am I doing it all wrong? Help! Thanks much. Aloha, y'all!

 

[Chris Tarman]

You shouldn't need to capo at all. If they are playing bluegrass-type stuff, they will most likely be using a lot of G, C, and D type chords. So you can just play those chords in their normal spots. If you want to do leads, just learn those scales, or even just pick through those chords' individual notes. There will likely be some other chords thrown in too, but they would be related to those 3, I would think. OR... you could get your friends to capo!

 

[Rick]

Aha learn the G scale on your 'ukulele. Once you have a familiar understanding with each note, then soloing in that key will be no problem. As for chords, just transpose the chords before you play :]

for example, if they're playing in C and the original key is D, move all the chords down by 1 whole step (or 2 frets aha). D will become C, A will become G, Bm will become Am, etc.

 

[DaveVisi]

This is a common misconception. Forget the capo. Play the notes as written. If it's a "G", play a "G" The fingering is different, but the notes remain the same.

 

[seeso]

There is no need to create two threads for the same question. Your threads have been merged. Thank you.