I just can't take it any more!

Ukejenny

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:rulez: I am a rule follower. I believe in teaching in an orderly fashion, and also believe it following the good traditions and methods passed down.

But I cannot do this any longer! If we name the strings in the order of G - C - E - A, then G is the "top" string. G is the "first" string. When I say, "top string, second fret", I am referring to the dad gum G string!

And that's the way it shall be!!!!!! :mad: My head says that is the right way. My heart says that is the right way. I cannot name the strings one way and then order them in the opposite way. Freud would support my decision. Or maybe not, but that's it. Done. :shaka:
 
LOL Ukejenny, I'll try to remember that when we play together....this up down up down is so confusing now....sh----!
 
Ah yes ...but when we physically go down the neck toward the sound hole with the left hand we are actually going "up"....and then when we play above the 12th fret towards the nut with the right hand we are playing "up" the neck , although going in the opposite direction to the left hand and down in tone value of the string :rolleyes:....


Still ,if you think the uke (or similar strung style instruments) are tricky try and teach a kid to tell the time on an analogue watch ....then see if you get conniptions LOL

*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVPUIRGthI

*
Sorry...off topic ...but have a coffee and a cookie and some chuckles...
 
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I heard an explanation in regards to string numbering the other day that made sense to me. The strings are numbered the same as the floors in a building. One, or the first floor as it may, is on the bottom and the fourth string or floor is on the top.
 
I heard an explanation in regards to string numbering the other day that made sense to me. The strings are numbered the same as the floors in a building. One, or the first floor as it may, is on the bottom and the fourth string or floor is on the top.


Good ......but too serious ....but very good..............except I spot the flaw in your cunning plan/arguement/plot......in the UK (crusty barstewards that we are ) we insist on a ground floor ...then 1 2 3 etc ....so unless we are going to have an instrument that is tuned G and F on the first string ......hmmmmmmmmm

I applaud your arguement / explanation though sire......and hope it works where there is more sense ...
 
I always thought the strings were numbered by a Violinist. If you think about it, when you pick up the Violin and tuck it under your chin, the closest string to you is the 1st string. It's only when you get sloppy, and start playing holding the instrument in you lap, that the 1st string is the furthest from you.
 
I always thought the strings were numbered by a Violinist. If you think about it, when you pick up the Violin and tuck it under your chin, the closest string to you is the 1st string. It's only when you get sloppy, and start playing holding the instrument in you lap, that the 1st string is the furthest from you.

Aha ...cunning .......So there you have it folks ...
when in doubt stick your uke
next to your left ear
and under your chin
and then count and grin...
And say to yourself
I wish Ma had bought me a Violin :agree:


VG you are genius...................:shaka:
 
Violinists don't get to decide for everyone else! :rulez:
 
Violinists don't get to decide for everyone else! :rulez:


Well who does then ?........not .....a ...........trrombonist........never trust a musician whose instrument changes shape.............damn ...quick Ma ...hide my Ackordeens....


:p
 
Good ......but too serious ....but very good..............except I spot the flaw in your cunning plan/arguement/plot......in the UK (crusty barstewards that we are ) we insist on a ground floor ...then 1 2 3 etc ....so unless we are going to have an instrument that is tuned G and F on the first string ......hmmmmmmmmm

I applaud your arguement / explanation though sire......and hope it works where there is more sense ...
Serious, I resent that. I'm forced to be serious at my workplace and don't like that at all. I spend my days with some of the most extreme anus puckers in existence (that would be tight asses in layman terms) that the last thing that I would try to be here is serious. But if that is the way that my comment was taken then please accept my humble apologies. Also, note to self, i shouldn't really be responding while contemplating life on Scotch #3.
 
:rulez: ...If we name the strings in the order of G - C - E - A, then G is the "top" string. G is the "first" string. When I say, "top string, second fret", I am referring to the dad gum G string!...:shaka:

Oh, Jenny!!

You're right, of course, but just try to change convention. Actually there are some people who use your logic backwards, and say that C tuning, for example, should be A E C G! I occasionally get inquiries with this sort of notation, and I always have to scratch my head for a minute to figure it out.

Actually, I'd say those folks may have as good an argument as yours, and from a string makers perspective, I much prefer it. That way we don't have to reverse the labeling on all our packets!

P.D: Convention also has the 4th string as the "top" string (nose to toes), so you could call out a G string (in C tuning) as the "top string", but not as the 1st string (it's the 4th).
 
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I always thought the strings were numbered by a Violinist. If you think about it, when you pick up the Violin and tuck it under your chin, the closest string to you is the 1st string. It's only when you get sloppy, and start playing holding the instrument in you lap, that the 1st string is the furthest from you.
Actually the string closest to the bow is the first string
Violinists don't get to decide for everyone else!
As a banjo player I think you have a good point.
Well who does then ?........not .....a ...........trrombonist........never trust a musician whose instrument changes shape.............damn ...quick Ma ...hide my Ackordeens....
OK Banjos, Trombones, Accordions, I guess we have to include Violas in this group too. Ut Ohh!

I am a rule follower. I believe in teaching in an orderly fashion, and also believe it following the good traditions and methods passed down.
Jenny: "Top string" is cool. Naming the strings g C E A is cool. Sadly the string numbering tradition is firmly ensconced. The best teaching method in music I know of is learning from other musicians. Do you want to give that up?
 
What's incongruous is that when listing the strings by note, it's goes from the string at the top edge down to the bottom edge (G-C-E-A, 4-3-2-1), but when using numbers, it goes from the bottom edge up to the top edge (1-2-3-4, A-E-C-G). No wonder it's confusing.
 
I have always called my strings by pitch rather than gravity.
I know that it causes a lot of confusion when some folks use gravity and call the first string the bottom string since it's closest to the floor. These same folks often talk about playing up the neck, meaning closer to the nut, or the higher frets as being closer to the nut since they're further from the floor.
Other folks (me) call the first string the top string since it is the highest pitched and playing up the neck means closer to the bridge since the pitch gets higher. The higher frets are closer to the bridge for the same reason.
Now if you are one of the "Gravity people", then it doesn't matter if your instrument is re-entrant like the 5 string banjo or ukulele, but it gets confusing to us "Pitch people" when we have a re-entrant tuned instrument.
 
Ok, now I'm confused, I've been playing for only a few months and belived that I had that sorted out... Well, I'm back in square one... ��
 
The answer is simple: Call them X-Y-Z-S and therefore no up or down and no confusing numbers. XYZS is easy to remember, but some other word could be used. It's difficult to find one without a musical note in it though.

Where thar's a will, thar's a way! :eek:ld:
 
trying to figure all it out as a grom has me on confusion as well. i just try to use the terms 'first', 'second' etal for frets only and refer to the strings by the tuning.

CJ- funny stuff with that vid, reminds me of what happens when i tell kids about pagers, getting up to rotate the television dial, and rotary phones. damn 1234strings..... oh, and the up and down the neck still has me confused, my brain says up is higher in the elevation...towards tuners. and higher up the fret towards the bridge makes total tonal sense to me.
 
Serious, I resent that. I'm forced to be serious at my workplace and don't like that at all. I spend my days with some of the most extreme anus puckers in existence (that would be tight asses in layman terms) that the last thing that I would try to be here is serious. But if that is the way that my comment was taken then please accept my humble apologies. Also, note to self, i shouldn't really be responding while contemplating life on Scotch #3.


Hellfire man ....way toooo serious :rolleyes: NOT.....

Scotch #3 ...perhaps you could send one this way ...not now......too early ,even for me ....

keep it slippy......


PS

I should have been serious at my work place...but unfortunately the Mischief Imp refused to stay at home
.....still ...
 
It seems perfectly correct to me but then again we Aussies are upside down on the bottom of the planet. Even the water swirls down the toilet bowl the opposite way to the ones in the Northen hemisphere.
 
And then there are we non-traditionalists who tune instruments for our musical convenience (I tune fifths) rather than adhere to pre-packaged strings criteria. For me its CGDA and GDAE (or is it ADGC and EADG?). Oh, well, a C chord is still a C chord....
 
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