cpatch
Well-known member
This was originally written for guitar by Mark Hanson from Accent on Music, translated for ukulele by Mike McVay from Ukulele Society of America, and expanded slightly by me:
Tip from Mark Hanson
Students ask me how to learn the names of the notes all over the ukulele neck (or why are there dots on my fretboard).
The system I have devised uses certain frets (5th, 7th, 10th, 12th) as guideposts, from which I suggest my students extrapolate to find other notes. Here is how to get started using my system for GCEA tuning (it's technically correct for low G, but the notes are the same for high G):
1) I know the open strings: G C E A (bass to treble)
2) I know the 12th-fret notes because they are the octaves of the open strings: G C E A
3) I know the fifth-fret notes because they are the same note as the adjacent higher-pitched string (the time-honored "5th-fret" tuning technique):
Fourth string, 5th fret = C
Third string, 4th fret = E *
Second string, 5th fret = A
(First string, 5th fret = D)
* The one exception is the 4th fret of the third string.
4) I know the 7th-fret notes because they are an octave higher than the adjacent lower-pitched string:
(Fourth string, 7th fret = D)
Third string, 7th fret = G
Second string, 8th fret = C *
First string, 7th fret = E
* The one exception is the 8th fret of the second string.
5) I know the 10th-fret notes because I can count backwards in the alphabet (at least from G back to A!). The 10th-fret notes are all one letter in the alphabet before the name of that open string (the third string is flat):
Fourth string, 10th fret = F (G string)
Third string, 10th fret = Bb (C string)
Second string, 10th fret = D (E string)
First string, 10th fret = G (A string)
- Mark Hanson
Copyright © 2009 Accent On Music LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Tip from Mark Hanson
Students ask me how to learn the names of the notes all over the ukulele neck (or why are there dots on my fretboard).
The system I have devised uses certain frets (5th, 7th, 10th, 12th) as guideposts, from which I suggest my students extrapolate to find other notes. Here is how to get started using my system for GCEA tuning (it's technically correct for low G, but the notes are the same for high G):
1) I know the open strings: G C E A (bass to treble)
2) I know the 12th-fret notes because they are the octaves of the open strings: G C E A
3) I know the fifth-fret notes because they are the same note as the adjacent higher-pitched string (the time-honored "5th-fret" tuning technique):
Fourth string, 5th fret = C
Third string, 4th fret = E *
Second string, 5th fret = A
(First string, 5th fret = D)
* The one exception is the 4th fret of the third string.
4) I know the 7th-fret notes because they are an octave higher than the adjacent lower-pitched string:
(Fourth string, 7th fret = D)
Third string, 7th fret = G
Second string, 8th fret = C *
First string, 7th fret = E
* The one exception is the 8th fret of the second string.
5) I know the 10th-fret notes because I can count backwards in the alphabet (at least from G back to A!). The 10th-fret notes are all one letter in the alphabet before the name of that open string (the third string is flat):
Fourth string, 10th fret = F (G string)
Third string, 10th fret = Bb (C string)
Second string, 10th fret = D (E string)
First string, 10th fret = G (A string)
- Mark Hanson
Copyright © 2009 Accent On Music LLC. All Rights Reserved.
