spots
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A thread in the "Beginners" forum about which Hertz setting to use on a tuning meter, a couple threads in the "Singing" forum about keys and voices, and a particular UU member's YouTube videos constantly being done with the uke tuned to "D", got me thinking last night.
My voice naturally works best with keys that give my fingers fits with chord formations. When I sing in easy to play keys like C, I sound like a monk doing Gregorian chants. Concert A 440 pitch, C tuning, and my voice just don't like each other. As a result I don't sing much when I play the uke. My wife commented the other night that it would be nice if I sang while playing.
Hmmm... I like C tuning chord forms... my voice works best with odd keys, but my fingers don't... what to do...
Change the pitch of the uke to match my voice!
I play the uke alone so I don't' have to worry about it blending with other instruments. This frees me to select whatever Hz range is comfortable for my voice while keeping the chord forms of C tuning.
I started with the uke tuned to 440. I then found a simple song and used "Song Sheet Generator" to change keys until I found a key in which it was comfortable for me to sing ("B" if anyone is interested). I then used a Korg CA-30 chromatic tuner set at 440 Hz, and tried to hit "C" (failed miserably). I couldn't hit "B" either. So I just hit a comfortable note and adjusted the tuner "Calib" button until the tuner hit a pitch where my voice naturally fell on "B" as being in tune. This brought me to 479 Hz.
With the tuner set at 479 Hz, I tuned the uke to standard GCEA tuning. This brought the uke in a little flat of D tuning, so string tension isn't an issue.
Hopefully I'm giving all the real musicians on the forum something to laugh about (this is the ukulele forum after all). All I know is that now when I play the uke it is pitched at comfortable place for my voice's natural range, I am still tuned to "C" (just "C" at 479 Hz), and I can use normal chord forms and sing without having to change the key of every song.
So what do you set your tuner at? Whatever you like.
When other uker players complain that you are out of tune, just tell them their tuners are off and hand them yours...
My voice naturally works best with keys that give my fingers fits with chord formations. When I sing in easy to play keys like C, I sound like a monk doing Gregorian chants. Concert A 440 pitch, C tuning, and my voice just don't like each other. As a result I don't sing much when I play the uke. My wife commented the other night that it would be nice if I sang while playing.
Hmmm... I like C tuning chord forms... my voice works best with odd keys, but my fingers don't... what to do...
Change the pitch of the uke to match my voice!
I play the uke alone so I don't' have to worry about it blending with other instruments. This frees me to select whatever Hz range is comfortable for my voice while keeping the chord forms of C tuning.
I started with the uke tuned to 440. I then found a simple song and used "Song Sheet Generator" to change keys until I found a key in which it was comfortable for me to sing ("B" if anyone is interested). I then used a Korg CA-30 chromatic tuner set at 440 Hz, and tried to hit "C" (failed miserably). I couldn't hit "B" either. So I just hit a comfortable note and adjusted the tuner "Calib" button until the tuner hit a pitch where my voice naturally fell on "B" as being in tune. This brought me to 479 Hz.
With the tuner set at 479 Hz, I tuned the uke to standard GCEA tuning. This brought the uke in a little flat of D tuning, so string tension isn't an issue.
Hopefully I'm giving all the real musicians on the forum something to laugh about (this is the ukulele forum after all). All I know is that now when I play the uke it is pitched at comfortable place for my voice's natural range, I am still tuned to "C" (just "C" at 479 Hz), and I can use normal chord forms and sing without having to change the key of every song.
So what do you set your tuner at? Whatever you like.
When other uker players complain that you are out of tune, just tell them their tuners are off and hand them yours...
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