Tuning for Guitarists

rlgph

rlgph

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I just picked up the uke. My main instrument is the guitar. While i appreciate that standard uke tuning is like the first 4 strings on a guitar (relatively speaking, or the same in the case of a baritone), my natural inclination is to tune it like the middle four strings of a guitar, ADGB, or if tuned down a step, GCFA. It's easier for me to draw on my guitar fingering that way. Is this a common tuning, or if not, what are the disadvantages of it, aside from not being "standard"?

Thanks for your insight.
 
rlgph said:
I just picked up the uke. My main instrument is the guitar. While i appreciate that standard uke tuning is like the first 4 strings on a guitar (relatively speaking, or the same in the case of a baritone), my natural inclination is to tune it like the middle four strings of a guitar, ADGB, or if tuned down a step, GCFA. It's easier for me to draw on my guitar fingering that way. Is this a common tuning, or if not, what are the disadvantages of it, aside from not being "standard"?

Thanks for your insight.
Click to expand...

That would mess with my head ,because if chording ,you would be playing the "middle" shape of the chord n'est pas ?. But if it works for you then go for it. If I move away from the gitbox I prefer to play the tuning ( or the same intervals)as the top four strings ,CFAD (Bouzouki ,Greek) GCEA /ADF#B soprano uke and DGBE on Tenor Banjo...........anything else and my head explodes....:confused::rofl:
 
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The only possible issue...and it is a very, very remote possibility...is that there could be a slight tonal irregularity because you are tightening the 1st, 3rd, and 4th strings and loosening the 2nd. So there is a slight chance that the 2nd string would be less resonant than its tighter neighbors. I usually tune my ukulele 3-5 frets looser than standard to avoid sounding like some toy, but all my strings are loosened in unison. So you'll have no problems and think of the benefits: no one will be able to steal your chords because no one will understand the configuration of your fingers.
 
ADGB could cause some tension issues depending on scale length and how high the natural tension of a given sting set is. But GCFA should cause no such difficulties. It is certainly not common but if it works for you, great. The primary disadvantage I can think of would be using any other instructional materials like chord diagrams, tab, etc. that are geared towards standard tuning. As with all alternate tunings, it will make some things easier and others more difficult. Whether that works in general for you, only you can decide.
 
ubulele said:
Shapes on the ...

In short, you might find that using a uke tuning like your middle strings would be simpler from the standpoint of how you're playing now, but I think it would pay off better to bite the bullet and switch to either a C or G standard fleas tuning, whether linear or re-entrant.
Click to expand...

Lots here to think about and experiment with. Thanks.

ron
 
The GCFA shouldn't cause any issues, but I would pick a string set with an E string that has a relatively thin diameter so it can handle being tuned up a half step. For ADGB you could use one of the ADF#B sets for soprano that are available to emulate the pre-war uke sound. I don't think there are any of these sets for larger sizes as the larger ukes only became popular when the lower tuning was adopted more broadly. Of course you can also buy individual strings and try to design your own set for the level of tension you like.
 
I'm a pro classical guitarist and stuck to the standard G C E A tuning on my 'ukuleles. I could immediately draw on much of my already baked in guitar fingerings and scale and chord forms. Sure, you need to be aware of the transposition when playing with others or tracking but most of the time I just think of the sounds and play. It took me a few months to become fluid at sight reading notes and chords, i.e., not confusing it with the guitar, but the hardest transition was adapting my left-hand to the cramped quarters of a tenor 'ukulele! I can now freely switch between the two instruments, even mid-song.
 
Thanks all, for your comments. There are clearly reasons why "standard" tunings become standard. For example, finding an acceptable way to play a D chord in ADGB tuning is a significant challenge if you're not comfortable with barres.

The one thing that i disagree with is that it is easier for someone comfortable with guitar fingerings to go with the shapes on the first four strings. I find it easier to shape my hand for the 6 string chord and let fingers that would be on the 1st and 6th strings "fall off" the corresponding side of the 4 string fretboard than have two fingers "fall off" the bass side. But that clearly is a personal preference.
 
I can see that if you mainly played six-string bar chords, shuffle bass and/or power chords. Oddly, my chords tended to be voiced in four-part harmony on the higher pitched strings, because I mainly played chords while working with bass players and needed to stay out of their way sonically.
 
I hope I am not out of line or sound snarky, because it is not meant to be so, but if you want to maintain everything like a guitar, because you already know how to play the guitar, what reason for playing a ukulele? Just buy a little guitar. Or, as you mentioned, play a baritone, it is a little four string guitar.
 
One of my baritones is tuned A-D-F#-B and I like it very much. I use it mostly for classical pieces. I use Savarez classical guitar strings for it, tuning the G down to F#.
 
Edit: deleted my comment because it was nonsense. I don’t know why many other people don’t use this tuning, it is fairly logical. I use dGBE on ukulele to match guitar myself.

Are you finger picking or strumming? Hats off to you if you can strum the middle of the guitar, best I can do is 1-3 or 4-6. When singing along, I find the ukulele quiet when picked compared to the guitar so I tend to save my finger style picking for guitar and strum the ukulele. But I have a loud voice and not much subtlety. Volume is obviously not a problem if you are amplifying you’re uke.
 
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