Tenor Ukulele Tuning – A Guide For First-timers
The tenor ukulele is the second largest of four different sizes that comprise the ukulele family: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. The longer the scale length of a uke, the louder the sound and the deeper the bass tone. A tenor uke has a scale length (the distance from the nut to the bridge) of 17” along with an overall length of 26”. While tenor ukes are quite popular, they started off being preferred by just a relatively small group of skillful players, one example is Jake Shimabukuro.
This has now changed, with the tenor ukulele becoming a wide-spread choice for beginners. I needed to create this short article to help answer a common query associated with the best way to tune a tenor uke, which can be a little confusing in early stages, because there are three ways to tune one: gc’e'a’ (re-entrant c-tuning), g’c'e’a’ (low-G tuning), or d’gbe’ (re-entrant D tuning).
Firstly, let’s start with the regular technique: Re- Entrant C-Tuning.
Your G string must be higher than the C and E strings.
The C is the same as a middle C of a piano.
Your 4th fret of the C string is the same as the open E string.
The 3rd fret of the E string is equivalent to the un-fretted G string.
The 5th fret of the E string is going to be the same as the open A string.
Next, the Low G tuning, which is slowly turning out to be a very popular way to tune a tenor ukulele, perhaps because it more closely resembles a guitar. I love to tune mine in this way for solo performances, because you are able to produce a bass accompaniment. To implement this tuning, simply just go through above process, with the exception that your G string has to be tuned lower than the C string.
And lastly, the least common is re-entrant D tuning – a relatively new technique. You will need some non-standard strings in order to use this particular tuning. This is also very like a guitar, but with the D string tuned higher.
Wanting to know how to decide upon which way to tune for your style of play? Here is a straightforward general guideline:
For strumming – re-entrant C
Solo performances – low G
A good example of how I might tune a tenor ukulele to low G (g’c'e’a') is as follows:-
Hold down the second string (from the top) at the 4th fret, and pluck it alternating with your un-fretted string below it. Tune this open 3rd string to sound exactly like fretted string above it.
Following that, hold down your 3rd string (from top) on the fifth fret, and then tune the string beneath it so they sound the same.
Finally, tune your top string by holding it down at the 2nd fret, and adjusting it to sound like the bottom string.
Good luck.
October 18, 2010
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Posted by Jam Man
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