EAC#F# tuning?

feeblepizza

feeblepizza

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So recently I've been fooling around a bit with different tunings, including the traditional Hawaiian ADF#B tuning and the open-C tuning (GECG). Right now, my uke is tuned to EAC#F#, and I was wondering what the different chord positions would be for this tuning. I Googled around and couldn't find any information about it. Would it be more similar to baritone (DGBE) tuning--because it sounds like a mini-guitar--or would it be more similar to gCEA/GCEA tuning? Any help would be much appreciated.
 
My Bruko is currently strung that way. I like it. It is a whole step higher than baritone tuning. Or 3 half steps lower than GCEA so it is just as similar to one as the other, I.e. NOT. :)

Personally, I treat all my ukes as if they were in C (GCEA) tuning regardless of what that are actually tuned to. I'm just not going to learn different chord names for the same shape based on the tunings or capo position that happens to be underneath my fingers at the moment. Of course if I'm playing with another instrument or to a recording I have to "transpose the music" to fit the uke I'm holding but I find that easier than the alternative of trying to transpose the uke to fit the music.
 
I play in the E, A, C#, F# tuning all the time. Similar to Jim I use it as a transposition tool. I'm either 2 semitones above baritone tuning or 3 semitones below standard tuning. I'm playing and singing solo and its useful for me to transpose songs which are usually too high for my voice.

I don't play in groups with a EAC#F# tuned instrument. I take a standard tuned instrument.

Anthony
 
provided that same interval is used the same chord shapes will work whatever you have tuned the ukelele . They will obviously be different sounds and names ..so a sliding scale chart would help .....or an innate knowledge of your scales....and relative positions.
 
feeblepizza said:
So recently I've been fooling around a bit with different tunings, including the traditional Hawaiian ADF#B tuning and the open-C tuning (GECG). Right now, my uke is tuned to EAC#F#, and I was wondering what the different chord positions would be for this tuning. I Googled around and couldn't find any information about it. Would it be more similar to baritone (DGBE) tuning--because it sounds like a mini-guitar--or would it be more similar to gCEA/GCEA tuning? Any help would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Did you go up or down ....what size uke ..?
 
feeblepizza said:
So recently I've been fooling around a bit with different tunings, including the traditional Hawaiian ADF#B tuning and the open-C tuning (GECG). Right now, my uke is tuned to EAC#F#, and I was wondering what the different chord positions would be for this tuning....
Click to expand...

That classic chord book, Alex Richter's "Ukulele Handbook" has a section with all the "A tuning" chords. Mel Bay published it in the States 15-20 years ago, and it's still readily available. It was around in Europe for probably a decade before that.

As a result, reentrant A tuning gained a fair amount of popularity in Northern Europe as a tuning for the standard Tenor Ukulele. As Anthony alluded to it's a Key that transposes easily. Alex told me he liked it because of the ease of transposition with guitar tuning. He played with a lot of guitar friends, and the reentrant A tuning was just high enough to stand out in that sort of group.

We like the Linear form as a clearer option for Baritone tuning as well.
 
I often tune down to get the chords from the lead sheet into my vocal range comfort zone. The lead sheets I have for some Cole Porter songs are all in the key of Eb, and I just can’t reach the high notes. Tune down a whole step or two, and they start to get managable. However, the limit for me seems to be Eb Ab C F — anything lower and the string tension just feels too floppy, and fretting sometimes makes the notes bend out of tune. Any my low-g tuned ukes don’t seem to like anything other than gCEA.

Once I've worked out an arrangement for a song, I stop thinking in terms of chord names, but instead think in terms of the shapes that I use.
 
Jim Hanks said:
... Personally, I treat all my ukes as if they were in C (GCEA) tuning regardless of what that are actually tuned to. I'm just not going to learn different chord names for the same shape based on the tunings or capo position that happens to be underneath my fingers at the moment. Of course if I'm playing with another instrument or to a recording I have to "transpose the music" to fit the uke I'm holding but I find that easier than the alternative of trying to transpose the uke to fit the music.
Click to expand...

It warms my heart to hear you say this, Jim. Maybe you need to write our website!

Dougf said:
I often tune down to get the chords from the lead sheet into my vocal range comfort zone. The lead sheets I have for some Cole Porter songs are all in the key of Eb, and I just can’t reach the high notes. Tune down a whole step or two, and they start to get managable. However, the limit for me seems to be Eb Ab C F — anything lower and the string tension just feels too floppy, and fretting sometimes makes the notes bend out of tune. Any my low-g tuned ukes don’t seem to like anything other than gCEA.

Once I've worked out an arrangement for a song, I stop thinking in terms of chord names, but instead think in terms of the shapes that I use.
Click to expand...

Same sort of approach as Jim. You know Doug, we do have some heavier gauge sets that will take care of the "floppiness". You should have enough Ukuleles to be able to dedicate one to the lower ranges.
 
feeblepizza said:
So recently I've been fooling around a bit with different tunings, including the traditional Hawaiian ADF#B tuning and the open-C tuning (GECG). Right now, my uke is tuned to EAC#F#, and I was wondering what the different chord positions would be for this tuning. I Googled around and couldn't find any information about it. Would it be more similar to baritone (DGBE) tuning--because it sounds like a mini-guitar--or would it be more similar to gCEA/GCEA tuning? Any help would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

baritone is actually like guitar minus the E and A string with a capo on the 5th fret (aka same chord shapes as standard uke but the names change which also happen to be the same shapes as guitar chords.
I'm not 100 % sure about your tunings, but if you email south coast they will def help you
seems the guy is an expert on all crazy tunings. I actually prefer the classic D6 tuning for sopranos
and C6 tunings for concert/tenor. If you figure out that tuning id like to hear some samples
sounds cool.
 
southcoastukes said:
It warms my heart to hear you say this, Jim. Maybe you need to write our website!



Same sort of approach as Jim. You know Doug, we do have some heavier gauge sets that will take care of the "floppiness". You should have enough Ukuleles to be able to dedicate one to the lower ranges.
Click to expand...

oops i mentioned he should contact you i see you beat me too it! haha
 
I love one of my baris tuned exactly that.
 
I have a tenor Bruko tuned EAC#F#. It gives the uke a more mellow tone which I like as well as making playing in certain keys easier. I mix it a bit as to how I approach the chords. Sometimes I think in terms of the "transposed" key and sometimes the sounding key. It depends on circumstances. It's useful to know the transpositions as if you find chords for a song given in a particular key, then you do need to work out what shapes to play for that song.

A usful tip: If the site has a transpose function, then go up a minor third (3 semitones) and you will get the shapes you need to play for that key. I do this with Ultimate Guitar.com as their chords are all guitar based. Here's a little table to give the shapes for common uke keys.

Code: 
GCEA key:   F C G D A E
EAC#F# key: D A E B C G

So if you want to play in E on an A tuned ukulele, use G shapes. Much easier than in GCEA :)

Also worth knowing for an A-tuned uke is that capo 3 gives GCEA so if you are playing with folk in standard tuning, just stick a capo on the 3rd fret and you're away. Alternatively, if you know the transpositions, you can just carry on in the tuning you're in. This is when it is worth knowing the transpositions, then you can quickly work out what shape to play.
 
iamesperambient said:
baritone is actually like guitar minus the E and A string with a capo on the 5th fret (aka same chord shapes as standard uke but the names change which also happen to be the same shapes as guitar chords.
I'm not 100 % sure about your tunings, but if you email south coast they will def help you
seems the guy is an expert on all crazy tunings. I actually prefer the classic D6 tuning for sopranos
and C6 tunings for concert/tenor. If you figure out that tuning id like to hear some samples
sounds cool.
Click to expand...

A Bari in standard tuning is like a guitar with two strings missing, it's when you go GCEA that it's like putting a capo on the fifth fret.
 
southcoastukes said:
Same sort of approach as Jim. You know Doug, we do have some heavier gauge sets that will take care of the "floppiness". You should have enough Ukuleles to be able to dedicate one to the lower ranges.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Dirk. Just checked out your web site, looks like something like this would fill the bill: "HMU-NW: Heavy Medium Gauge Ukulele Set - no wound strings". Any other recommendations?
 
Dougf said:
Thanks, Dirk. Just checked out your web site, looks like something like this would fill the bill: "HMU-NW: Heavy Medium Gauge Ukulele Set - no wound strings". Any other recommendations?
Click to expand...

Those are what I have on my baritone ukulele after emailing Dirk a month ago and, man, with reentrant dGBE tunings they are amazing! I'm definitely reentrant in all my playing, and to have it on my Bari, and with no wound strings....heaven!
 
iamesperambient said:
baritone is actually like guitar minus the E and A string with a capo on the 5th fret (aka same chord shapes as standard uke but the names change which also happen to be the same shapes as guitar chords.
I'm not 100 % sure about your tunings, but if you email south coast they will def help you
seems the guy is an expert on all crazy tunings. I actually prefer the classic D6 tuning for sopranos
and C6 tunings for concert/tenor. If you figure out that tuning id like to hear some samples
sounds cool.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help! I'll make sure to ask them.
 
Tootler said:
I have a tenor Bruko tuned EAC#F#. It gives the uke a more mellow tone which I like as well as making playing in certain keys easier. I mix it a bit as to how I approach the chords. Sometimes I think in terms of the "transposed" key and sometimes the sounding key. It depends on circumstances. It's useful to know the transpositions as if you find chords for a song given in a particular key, then you do need to work out what shapes to play for that song.

A usful tip: If the site has a transpose function, then go up a minor third (3 semitones) and you will get the shapes you need to play for that key. I do this with Ultimate Guitar.com as their chords are all guitar based. Here's a little table to give the shapes for common uke keys.

Code: 
GCEA key:   F C G D A E
EAC#F# key: D A E B C G

So if you want to play in E on an A tuned ukulele, use G shapes. Much easier than in GCEA :)

Also worth knowing for an A-tuned uke is that capo 3 gives GCEA so if you are playing with folk in standard tuning, just stick a capo on the 3rd fret and you're away. Alternatively, if you know the transpositions, you can just carry on in the tuning you're in. This is when it is worth knowing the transpositions, then you can quickly work out what shape to play.
Click to expand...

Wow, this is actually exactly what I needed.
 
Dougf said:
Thanks, Dirk. Just checked out your web site, looks like something like this would fill the bill: "HMU-NW: Heavy Medium Gauge Ukulele Set - no wound strings". Any other recommendations?
Click to expand...

I'm assuming 17" scale? I don't recall you with a Baritone, and a Concert would be a bit short for this tuning.

In that case, then HMUs will be very nice tuned to A - should take care of all the "flop". Depending on your preference in tension, one of the Heavy Gauge sets could also work.

As usual, a bit thinner gauge - in this case the HMUs - will be a little clearer. To get the extra tension of the HUs you get a little less clarity - you might say they give a warmer tone.

In both cases you have a choice of all plain or polished wound 3rd.

Hope that helps (love your playing, Ukulele Mose (Mose Alison)).
 
Last edited:
This is a great thread! I am a confirmed A tuning dude already myself.

The concert i just picked up has Nylgut strings on it, and it sounds good all the way down to A also. I know that is too low for that scale, and there is a bit of boominess in the A string, but i like the floppier string tension, and it sounds better than in Bb or B. C is just too tight for my taste with these strings. I have Southcoast strings on my baritone, so I'll try some on this concert soon too.

:)
 
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