little confusion with tenor tuning D:

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My buddy was over one time and he called my tenor uke a soprano. I told him it was a tenor uke, but he considered an ukulele a tenor based on its tuning rather than its size. For as long i've been playing, I've gone with gCEA, but now I hear there's another way to tune it. Anybody know what it is? Anyone else use it? I remember reading about it once, but i dont remember.

P.S. I've read up on gCEA and the variants that are a whole step up/down. What else could possibly be there?
 
The labels soprano and tenor for 'ukulele are pretty misleading. They are usually tuned to exactly the same notes at the same pitches. The difference is in size, not in pitch.

Your friend can consider what he likes, and his way might make more sense, but by convention, as long as it falls within the size range or about 17" scale length from nut to saddle, then your g'c'e'a' tuned 'ukulele is a tenor as understood by the uke playing world.

Some people tune tenors to "baritone" tuning, but I don't think it's that common.
 
The "original" tuning for tenors was A-Tuning (e-a-f#-c#). I think I recall Lyle Ritz still using A-tuning. However, with nowadays strings, there is no longer a necessary relation between scale length and tuning. You can tune a tenor to whatever pitch you want as long as the strings can take it: It´s still a tenor!
 
Many sopranos and concert models were also tuned to "D" (A,D,F#,B) tuning during the golden age of ukuleles (1920s-1940s). Many of the old books from the early days use tablature for that tuning. Some people think the smaller ukes (especially the sopraninos) sound better with D tuning and still tune them that way.

You can hear the various tunings here:

http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/04/10/ukulele-tuning-notes/
 
Many sopranos and concert models were also tuned to "D" (A,D,F#,B) tuning during the golden age of ukuleles (1920s-1940s). Many of the old books from the early days use tablature for that tuning. Some people think the smaller ukes (especially the sopraninos) sound better with D tuning and still tune them that way.

You can hear the various tunings here:

http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/04/10/ukulele-tuning-notes/

I keep my Maccaferri Islander plastic soprano tuned in D tuning (mostly so I can attempt to figure out George Formby songs in the absence of of banjolele), and it sounds pretty nice. If I ever get a sopranino I'll probably tune the Islander back down to C tuning. Or if I ever get two banjo ukes (one for D and one for C... I'm starting to see how UAS develops!).
 
I keep a tenor tuned to DGBE. The D is a high D.
Aquila makes the string set. I use it for the mellower/lower tone as it adds to a group of ukes.
It also gives me some fingering options without using a capo.
 
Tenor should be Re-Entrant G tuning, or you can go with Low G tuning, if you want a bassier sound. Your friend is being a bit daft, tenor relates to the scale, not the tuning. As also mentioned, you can put your tenor into G tuning, like one would with a baritone uke, but personally I'm not keen, and think that tuning should be reserved for baritone ukes
 
I keep my Maccaferri Islander plastic soprano tuned in D tuning (mostly so I can attempt to figure out George Formby songs in the absence of of banjolele), and it sounds pretty nice. If I ever get a sopranino I'll probably tune the Islander back down to C tuning. Or if I ever get two banjo ukes (one for D and one for C... I'm starting to see how UAS develops!).

I tried the D tuning on my Ohana soprano, but it is already so plunky that I didn't like it. It was nice to be able to use the tabs from the old books drectly though.
 
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