Is it possible to tune to Open Gm my soprano uku?

june85

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Hello all,

I have been trying to search how to tune or retune a soprano ukulele to an Open Gm... actually, is it even possible to do that?

I found some results about Open C tuning but nothing about Gm.
I'm terrible at music theory so please don't be too harsh :D

The purpose is to transpose a guitar song which is in Open Gm to the ukulele... maybe I'm doing it wrong?

Thank you for your answers!
 
The Gm chord comprises the notes G D and Bb, so open Gm tuning on your ukulele will comprise leaving the 4th string alone (it's already G), then lowering other three strings one whole tone (two frets) to Bb, D and G for the 3rd 2nd and 1st respectively.

Hope this helps :)
 
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Wow thank you, this helps a lot yes! Can't wait to try this, not sure how it will sound :D
 
If by transpose you mean to use the same fingerings, then kypfer's suggestion will not work.

Open Gm on guitar is D G D G Bb D.

So you would need D G Bb D on the uke, not G Bb D G, unless you're willing to re-finger your guitar arrangement.

D G Bb D is not going to work well unless you shuffle your strings around.

I would suggest you do it as kypfer said and re-finger your arrangement to fit.
 
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Thank you Jim. I've tried the tuning recommended by kypfer and it sounds pretty good!

The thing is, the song on guitar is using mainly notes on the 2 first D, by example :

D |--0--0--0----
Bb|--0--0--0----
G |--0--0--0----
D |--5--0--3----
G |--0--0--0----
D |--5--0--3----


When playing it on uku, I only use one note on the D string (second string) and there is no "bass" note. It sounds pretty nice but I was wondering if it's possible to add the bass note somewhere? I can't play it on the Bb string right? I need to leave that string open...

Thanks again for your time!
 
Well, the chord sequence there is Gm9 Gm Gm7.

9th chords can't be fully voiced on the uke, as they require 5 notes, so you have to imply them. For the Gm9, the important notes to leave in are the minor 3rd (Bb) and the 9th (A). And the root (G) if possible.

You could leave the uke in standard tuning and play:

Gm9 (0670) G F Bb A (or 0270 G D Bb A - would be quite a stretch)
Gm (0231) G D G Bb
Gm7 (0211) G D F Bb

You still won't get the bass, but it should sound fuller than what you were doing in open Gm.

The closest you'll come to the sound you hear on guitar (with the moving bass) is to restring your uke and tune it in the other open Gm (D G Bb D). If you tune down to it (not up - strings will snap!), it might work, but the strings will be rather floppy.

Anyway, give standard tuning a shot and see how it sounds...
 
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> the song on guitar is ......

OK, would you be more specific as to what you're trying to do? Song accompaniment? Solo instrumental? Also, you got to realize the range on ukulele is less compared to guitar and there are places you need to compromise. The lack of bass notes is one limitation (aka, that makes ukulele different and it is cool IMHO) - you can string your ukulele (easier on a tenor) with low G string then you have the nice bass G in your voicing.

> I can't play it on the Bb string right? I need to leave that string open...

You can try to play that note on the Bb string

0 7 0 3 ? (G G D Bb) tuned to G Bb D G = kypfer tuning

then

0 2 0 3

0 5 0 3 ???

Cheers
Chief
 
Hi

Been thinking a bit - what about tuning G Bb D Bb (so 4th string stays the same; 3rd goes down by 1 full step; 2nd goes down by 1 full step; 1st goes *up* by one half step)???

To play that particular chord sequence/riff, you can do

0 7 0 0

0 2 0 0

0 5 0 0

Cheers
Chief
 
Hello!

Thank you all for your thinking.
I have tried all the different options, standard tuning and G Bb D Bb tuning! They all sound good, now I need to figure out which one I like the most.

All this was very informative and I learned a lot, so thank you for your time!

The final goal was to transpose Feeling good from Muse, which is played on a piano initially, but I wanted to transpose this guitar cover :

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

I want to keep the slide guitar notes, so I guess I will just stick with the open tuning :)
 
june85 said:

> I have tried all the different options

When I play guitar, I change tunings almost every song and we got 6 strings! It *is* easier on steel string guitar since the strings don't slip/stretch compared to nylon strings. Anyway, I almost never use standard tuning and I learned to retune rather quickly......

FYI

Cheers
Chief
 
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