*Re Sparking* For the bored intermediate/advanced ukulele players

For the bored intermediate/advanced ukulele players

Trust me one time. This isn't a bullshit post.You will learn a lot from this trust me.

I am an ukulele player for 5 years now. In the past year, I was playing very little ukulele because I got very bored of it. As a result, I started classical guitar and I loved it. Now I am 1 1/2 years into classical guitar and I can play Clair de Lune .

Don't leave yet, the good part comes soon

I had to change my tuning in Clair de Lune in order to play it. This got me into alternate tunings.

No, this isn't a low g post

I was messing around with alternate tunings, and then I finally found the perfect tuning. The more I played it, the more useful I realized it was. It made more sense than the original GCEA tuning.

I introduce to you: The Minor 3rd tuning!!!

The tuning goes like this:
Instead of GCEA, the tuning is ACD#F#
What are the pros and cons of this tuning?
First, use the only website that is alternate tuning friendly http://ukulelehelper.com/
(You can change the tuning by clicking on the letters on the tuning pegs)

Pros
1. Scales are much easier to learn
2. The fretboard is easy to memorize

3. You can play most of the 6th, 7th and sus chords with ease.
4. You can play the ukulele in a new, unique way.
5. Jazz chords
6. Symmetrical
7. Patterns
8. Tuning by minor thirds. Notice on the picture above that the third fret on each string is the same as the consecutive open string

Cons
1. The major and minor chords are now in really weird shapes. You can still manage it, but it shouldn't matter because you are probably bored of major chords by now anyways
2.A whole new setup can be confusing.
3. Works best with low g

Thats all. I am sure this will spark your passion for ukulele again
Jam out!!! You will find you ukulele has a whole new sound and feel to it.
Here is a video of me making a mysterious song out of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ3UY5uJFBY

*I used a low g ukulele, which makes the chords sound better, but this should work with regular g ukuleles.

Sorry, I wish I hadn't trusted you. But it's probably my fault. In 32 years of playing music, I have yet to be bored of it, and you did say your post was for the bored. Probably those who've never tried alternate tunings will have learned something.

I don't know how one can get bored of certain chords, it's like getting bored with certain letters in the alphabet. But as an experimenter with alternate tunings myself, that ukulelehelper.com site is quite useful.

Thanks for sharing. My ageing brain constantly struggles with music/fretboard theory.

In the original poster's defense, I am also one that got bored with the uke. However, I get bored with anything that I do after a while. No, it's not ADD or anything, I just like assortment in my life, which is something I recently realized.

I am really a banjo player that plays the uke, guitar and mandolin. When I was just only playing the banjo and nothing else, I got bored. Then playing the guitar only, I got bored, etc. I think what the original poster basically did was turn his uke into a different instrument. Doing an alternate tuning makes the instrument new. I did that on my banjo when I got bored with it years ago, and it helped.

I found out though, for me, it's best not to concentrate on just one instrument anymore. I need to spread my playing across all the different types of instruments I do play. I thinned the herd on all of my instruments, including the uke (as you will see by my signature), because I'd get UAS, GAS, MAS, BAS, and anyother *as you can think of. Once I'd get bored, I' sit back, look at the instrument I'd usually go for or bring to gigs, and sell any others that I hadn't played in a long time.

Anyhow, zchay, I'm glad you found a way to keep going on the uke and making it different so as not to be bored with it.

Dan

F C F A is a fun one for an Ionian major slack key tuning. Thank you for another way. After a time, even chocolate cherry Moosetracks ice cream needs to be changed to something else.

It never hurts to try something new, if that's what cranks your tractor, then I say enjoy it!

I'd better not jump on any alternate tunings - I'm still trying to get comfy cozy with the standard fretboard note names.

As a friend once said to me, alternate tunings are the devil's playground

TheCraftedCow said:

F C F A is a fun one for an Ionian major slack key tuning. Thank you for another way. After a time, even chocolate cherry Moosetracks ice cream needs to be changed to something else.

Click to expand...

Try some Edy's Wafflecone ice cream if you haven't yet.