String Numbering and Tab

WKerrigan · Mar 9, 2014

As a new uker, I still find myself confused regularly about terminology and practice when referring to uke strings. Since we talk about standard tuning on a uke, we refer to it as GCEA (or gCEA), but then we call the A string the FIRST string? For consistency's sake, should we not call it the fourth string?

When reading tab, the top line represents the bottom (i.e. "first") string, correct? Presumably because when you hang your head over your uke that is what it looks like?

So in tab, a G chord would be:

2
3
2
0

right?

But if I am describing it in text running left to right, do I refer to it as

2320

or

0232 ?

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 9, 2014

It is for consistency's sake the strings are numbered the way they are. A uke can be tuned other than GCEA or gCEA, but the first string will always be the first string, regardless of the tuning. This is true for all stringed instruments to the best of my knowledge.

sukie · Mar 9, 2014

Personally I would do 0232. I know what that means.

WKerrigan · Mar 9, 2014

PhilUSAFRet said:
It is for consistency's sake the strings are numbered the way they are. A uke can be tuned other than GCEA or gCEA, but the first string will always be the first string, regardless of the tuning. This is true for all stringed instruments to the best of my knowledge.

In that case, shouldn't we be saying that the uke is tuned to AECG or AECg? That would be the more consistent way to state it, right?

WKerrigan · Mar 9, 2014

sukie said:
Personally I would do 0232. I know what that means.

So when you describe a G chord as 0232, you are naming the frets starting with the 4th string and working down to the 1st.

wildfire070 · Mar 9, 2014

This is how I look at it...when stating the string number, I state it as if I'm holding the uke in playing position and the string closest to the floor is #1 and the one closest to my head is #4.

When I'm reading tabs or writing it in text my reference position changes to where I'm not looking at the ukulele in playing position but I'm looking at it straight on, front view with the headstock pointing up and looking straight at the fretboard. And looking at it this way is like reading a book...going left to right...#4 string to #1. So a G chord in gCEA tuning would be 0232

Camsuke · Mar 9, 2014

This should help;
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?809-How-to-Read-Tabs-Thread

freewheeler · Mar 9, 2014

I can think of no reason why string numbering and the lettering couldn't have been logical and both of them run in the same direction. I suspect it has just evolved the way it has. I see the lettering being a logical result of the strum direction (top to bottom). I wonder if string numbering originated with the string manufacturers. It would follow standard practice for a manufacturer of a set of graded string to consider the thinnest one as the starting point and call it No.1

WKerrigan · Mar 9, 2014

freewheeler said:
I can think of no reason why string numbering and the lettering couldn't have been logical and both of them run in the same direction. I suspect it has just evolved the way it has. I see the lettering being a logical result of the strum direction (top to bottom). I wonder if string numbering originated with the string manufacturers. It would follow standard practice for a manufacturer of a set of graded string to consider the thinnest one as the starting point and call it No.1

I agree, and believe your theory is correct. Both the down strum and the order most players use to pluck the strings to check if the uke is in tune suggests that the player's natural inclination is to start with the top string, not the bottom.

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 10, 2014

WKerrigan said:
In that case, shouldn't we be saying that the uke is tuned to AECG or AECg? That would be the more consistent way to state it, right?

That wouldn't be logical, unless you can play a uke tuned AECG or AECg. To make an absolute statement that "ukes are tuned gCEA" would not be correct. All you can say is that it's the post popular tuning today. It's not necessarily logical to expect the numbering be reversed because you strum the g string first. Strings are numbered with regard to your fretting hand. Again, regardless of tuning, the first string will always be the first. It's universal. Sounds like you are trying to "re-invent the wheel" so to speak. You know the old expression, "if it isn't broke........."....well, it isn't broke.

WKerrigan · Mar 10, 2014

PhilUSAFRet said:
That wouldn't be logical, unless you can play a uke tuned AECG or AECg. To make an absolute statement that "ukes are tuned gCEA" would not be correct. All you can say is that it's the post popular tuning today. It's not necessarily logical to expect the numbering be reversed because you strum the g string first. Strings are numbered with regard to your fretting hand. Again, regardless of tuning, the first string will always be the first. It's universal. Sounds like you are trying to "re-invent the wheel" so to speak. You know the old expression, "if it isn't broke........."....well, it isn't broke.

My uke, and probably most of yours, are already tuned AECG (or AECg). I am simply reading the tuning in string number order. When I count, i generally start "1, 2, 3, 4," not "4, 3, 2, 1." I am just perplexed by the custom of describing tuning in reverse numerical order. I am not, of course, trying to "reinvent the wheel." I surely don't have the authority to do so! Just pointing out that there are some inconsistencies in the customs used in labeling strings, and it is for this novice at least one reason for early confusion when reading tab or deciphering number codes for chords. Understanding that they are inconsistencies is the first step in overcoming them.

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 10, 2014

Using you fretting hand, you are playing them in order....1, 2, 3, 4. Jim Deville explains the logic of the numbering system as opposed to the lettering method. What if you want to tune your concert EADG?...you would still have the numbering system as a constant. Tunings is a bigger subject than many suspect.

http://www.playukulelebyear.com/tag/the-number-system/
http://www.playukulelebyear.com/category/the-circle/

If you feel better calling it AECG, go for it. There is another "system" that supports what you are saying. It's called the Cipher system. Not sure to what extent it's being used, but I thought it might help you make your point and also point out that you are not alone.

http://www.thecipher.com/ukulele-string-numbers.html

Good post, lots of thinking and discussion.

WKerrigan · Mar 10, 2014

PhilUSAFRet said:
If you feel better calling it AECG, go for it. Using you fretting hand, you are playing them in order....1, 2, 3, 4. Jim Deville explains the logic of the numbering system as opposed to the illogical lettering method. What if you want to tune your concert EADG?...you would still have the numbering system as a constant. There's a lot more to the issue than a habit. Alternative tunings is a complex issue.

http://www.playukulelebyear.com/tag/the-number-system/
The inconsistency is all that I am trying to point out. If you believe the numbering system is logical and the lettering system is illogical, then you are recognizing the inconsistency. The history of the world is filled with customs, practices, etc., that aren't consistent. Recognizing inconsistencies is the first necessary step to learning something new without getting tripped up.

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 10, 2014

Too bad you replied before I completed my latest reply. I do it in parts, saving what I've done while I check something else, or get a link, the re-open and re-edit it, adding the new information until I have everything I want in it, cutting out anything that looks snarky, etc. If you digest it before I'm finished, it's a little like reading an author's unedited manuscript, LOL. Not a great habit I guess.

janeray1940 · Mar 10, 2014

WKerrigan said:
The inconsistency is all that I am trying to point out.

For what it's worth - the inconsistency drives me crazy! I'm dyslexic with numbers (dyscalculia) and it's hard enough for me to read rows of numbers in tab in the first place! Through years of playing and repetition I've taught myself that when I see

2
3
2
0

I know that means a G chord, but the minute someone starts talking about playing a chord as a string of numbers verbalized as "0232" my brain starts to short-circuit a bit

WKerrigan · Mar 10, 2014

PhilUSAFRet said:
Too bad you replied before I completed my latest reply. I do it in parts, saving what I've done while I check something else, or get a link, the re-open and re-edit it, adding the new information until I have everything I want in it, cutting out anything that looks snarky, etc. If you digest it before I'm finished, it's a little like reading an author's unedited manuscript, LOL. Not a great habit I guess.

Well I appreciate all the comments here, including yours. Talking through these things helps me get it sorted in my head.

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 10, 2014

This post started With tabs, it's just numbers, strings, and frets.........all consistent. Using numbers for chords another issue. Regarding string numbers, I understand why it is the way it is and don't see it as an "inconsistency."......that cipher method link in my 9:18 post does support that it is a problem for some and offers an alternative method for learning. http://www.thecipher.com/ukulele-string-numbers.html

Andrew Zimmern says, "if it looks good eat it", here we say if it works for you, do it. :shaka:

WKerrigan · Mar 10, 2014

janeray1940 said:
For what it's worth - the inconsistency drives me crazy! I'm dyslexic with numbers (dyscalculia) and it's hard enough for me to read rows of numbers in tab in the first place! Through years of playing and repetition I've taught myself that when I see

2
3
2
0

I know that means a G chord, but the minute someone starts talking about playing a chord as a string of numbers verbalized as "0232" my brain starts to short-circuit a bit

The way I got myself to visually understand tab notation was to imagine I was a ukulele-playing giraffe, and I was curving my long neck downwards to face the frets, and it is what my upside-down head sees in front of me. But I am still uncertain how to read numeric notation that is presented in a left to right line of text. Maybe I've got a bit of dyscalcula too.

PhilUSAFRet · Mar 10, 2014

Many of us, myself included, are not hardwired to find music theory easy to understand. That's why so many good musicians who find it easy would rather eat worms than try and teach it to us.

wkerrigan, did you check out that cipher method?

janeray1940 · Mar 10, 2014

WKerrigan said:
The way I got myself to visually understand tab notation was to imagine I was a ukulele-playing giraffe, and I was curving my long neck downwards to face the frets, and it is what my upside-down head sees in front of me.

Ha ha, I LOVE this description. And that was kind of my approach too, but without the giraffe - when I first started playing, I would bend forward over my uke so I could "read" the strings in the same order as I was reading the tab!

String Numbering and Tab

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