is tenor not an octave or two lower than soprano??

joopiterandbeyond

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Brand new here :) Please feel free to point me to another thread if this has been covered.

Is a typical soprano uke (reentrant) tuned to G4, C4, E4, A4?
Is a soprano uke (low G) tuned to G3, C4, E4, A4?

Is a tenor uke tuned the same (C4, E4, A4)?
Would it not be an octave or two octaves lower (as in voice)?

i.e., In ukulele land, does tenor not signify a lower octave, but rather just a richer sound??
 
The strings on a standard tuned Soprano are the same pitch as a std tuned tenor. Only the Baritone is tuned lower and it is only 5 semitones lower
 
Thanks very much, Osprey.

So, in ukulele, soprano and tenor mean a different thing than they do in voice? Is that right?
 
It's more a description of size, not pitch. They do sound different. Sopranos have more bark and Tenors a more full sound with more sustain. That's a general statement. Many Ukes of the same size have different sounds. It's what makes different folks love different ukuleles
 
Soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and other 'labels' refer to scale length.

see picture below to show the relative differences with measurements:

uke-size-comparison.gif


There are variations in tunings of GCEA either linear or re-entrant, and baritone is usually linear DGBE, but there are also re-entrant strings for baritone for high-D, as well a high-G re-entrant GCEA strings for baritone.

Linear is low-G or low-D, re-entrant is high-G or high-D tuning.
 
You da man Booli.
 
Basically, as the sizes go up, the tone gets richer & more full. :)

Different sizes suit different people, same as with string types, & woods, &.............

You get the picture? ;)
 
You da man Booli.

Thanks Mike.

However, I did not create that one myself. It was 'borrowed' from the results of some google-fu some time back when I needed to explain to a friend via email...

...so I cannot take credit for it, but it is one of the better diagrams like that, that I have found online. I may have bookmarked the original source, but tineye.com might also reveal it's origins...
 
Thanks Mike. However, I did not create that one myself. It was 'borrowed' from the results of some google-fu some time back when I needed to explain to a friend via email... so I cannot take credit for it, but it is one of the better diagrams like that, that I have found online. I may have bookmarked the original source, but tineye.com might also reveal it's origins...

You still da man for just being so helpful.
 
Soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and other 'labels' refer to scale length.

see picture below to show the relative differences with measurements:

uke-size-comparison.gif


There are variations in tunings of GCEA either linear or re-entrant, and baritone is usually linear DGBE, but there are also re-entrant strings for baritone for high-D, as well a high-G re-entrant GCEA strings for baritone.

Linear is low-G or low-D, re-entrant is high-G or high-D tuning.

That graphic will be helpful for a lot of folks. I suggest using 15-inch and 13-inch for concert and soprano, respectively. What would also be helpful would be to indicate approximate octave range for each scale.
 
That graphic will be helpful for a lot of folks. I suggest using 15-inch and 13-inch for concert and soprano, respectively. What would also be helpful would be to indicate approximate octave range for each scale.

Thanks Eddie. Again, not my work, but your point is well made.

As to your suggestions, I found the following on the Wikipedia page for UKULELE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele) :

Types and sizes

Common types of ukuleles include soprano (standard ukulele), concert, tenor, and baritone. Less common are the sopranino (also called piccolo, bambino, or "pocket uke"), bass, and contrabass ukuleles.[SUP][37][/SUP] The soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the second-smallest and was the original size. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The baritone (resembling a smaller tenor guitar) was created in the 1940s, and the contrabass and bass are very recent innovations (2010 and 2014, respectively).[SUP][38][/SUP][SUP][39][/SUP]

Size and popular tunings of standard ukulele types:

TypeAlternate
names
Typical
length
Scale
length
[SUP][40][/SUP]
FretsRange [SUP][41][/SUP]Common
tuning[SUP][42][/SUP]
Alternate
tunings
Pocketpiccolo, sopranino, sopranissimo16 in (41 cm)11 in (28 cm)10–12G4–E6D5–G4–B4–E5C5–F4–A4–D5
Sopranostandard, ukulele21 in (53 cm)13 in (33 cm)12–15C4–A5 (C6)G4–C4–E4–A4[SUP][43][/SUP]A4–D4–F4–B4
G3–C4–E4–A4[SUP][43][/SUP]
Concertsuper soprano, alto23 in (58 cm)15 in (38 cm)15–18C4–C6 (D6)G4–C4–E4–A4[SUP][43][/SUP]G3–C4–E4–A4[SUP][43][/SUP]
Tenortaro patch, Liliʻu[SUP][44][/SUP]26 in (66 cm)17 in (43 cm)17–19G3–D6 (E6)"High G":
G4–C4–E4–A4
"Low G":
G3–C4–E4–A4
D4–G3–B3–E4[SUP][43][/SUP]
A3–D4–F4–B4
D3–G3–B3–E4
Baritonebari, bari uke,
taropatch[SUP][45][/SUP]
29 in (74 cm)19 in (48 cm)18–21D3–A5 (C6)D3–G3–B3–E4C3–G3–B3–E4
Bass[SUP][46][/SUP]30 in (76 cm)20 in (51 cm)16–18E2–B4 (C5)E2–A2–D3–G3
ContrabassU-Bass, Rumbler[SUP][47][/SUP]32 in (81 cm)21 in (53 cm)16E1–B3E1–A1–D2–G2"Drop D": D1-A1-D2-G2

continued in next post...
 
...continued from previous post...

Range of notes of standard ukulele types:

cd4343bb7af0f73f604f9380a6774029.png


Note that range varies with the tuning and size of the instruments. The examples shown in the chart reflect the range of each instrument from the lowest standard tuning, to the highest fret in the highest standard tuning.

Tuning




Ukulele C[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning Play (help·info).





"My dog has fleas" tuning. Play (help·info)


The (currently) most popular tuning for the standard or soprano ukulele is C[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning: G[SUB]4[/SUB]–C[SUB]4[/SUB]–E[SUB]4[/SUB]–A[SUB]4[/SUB].[SUP][48][/SUP] The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected. This is known as a "reentrant tuning"; it enables uniquely close-harmony chording. A few players prefer "low G" tuning, with the G in sequence an octave lower: G[SUB]3[/SUB]–C[SUB]4[/SUB]–E[SUB]4[/SUB]–A[SUB]4[/SUB], the same relationship as the top 4 strings (DGBE) of a guitar in standard tuning.

Another common tuning for the soprano ukulele is the higher string-tension D[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning (or simply D tuning), A[SUB]4[/SUB]–D[SUB]4[/SUB]–F[SUB]4[/SUB]–B[SUB]4[/SUB], one step higher than the G[SUB]4[/SUB]–C[SUB]4[/SUB]–E[SUB]4[/SUB]–A[SUB]4[/SUB] tuning. Once considered standard, this tuning was commonly used during the Hawaiian music boom of the early 20th century, and is often seen in sheet music from this period, as well as in many method books through the 1980s. D[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning is said by some to bring out a sweeter tone in some ukuleles, generally smaller ones. D[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning with a low fourth string, A[SUB]3[/SUB]–D[SUB]4[/SUB]–F[SUB]4[/SUB]–B[SUB]4[/SUB], is sometimes called "Canadian tuning" after its use in the Canadian school system, mostly on concert or tenor ukuleles, and extensive use by James Hill and J. Chalmers Doane.[SUP][49][/SUP]

Whether C[SUP]6[/SUP] or D[SUP]6[/SUP] tuning should be the "standard" tuning is a matter of long and ongoing debate. There are historic and popular ukulele methods that have used each.[SUP][50][/SUP]

The "higher pitched" instruments (sopranino, soprano, concert) most often employ reentrant tuning, while the "lower pitched" instruments (baritone, bass, and often tenor) usually employ linear tuning, where the strings are tuned from low to high pitch across the instrument. For example, baritone is usually tuned to D[SUB]3[/SUB]–G[SUB]3[/SUB]–B[SUB]3[/SUB]–E[SUB]4[/SUB], (like the highest four strings of a standard 6-string guitar.) There are, however, exceptions, with some players preferring to place the tenor (and even, rarely, the baritone) into re-entrant tuning as well.
Hawaiian ukuleles may also be tuned to open tunings, similar to the Hawaiian slack key style.[SUP][51][/SUP]

Ukulele can be tuned like Dotara as well (a four string instrument played by the folk singers in India and Bangladesh) Ukulele can be tuned like Dotara in many patterns, but E-B-E-A is the easiest way to tune it as there is only two strings need to be tuned.[SUP][52][/SUP]


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele
 
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