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Uke
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Subject: Uke From: Captain Farrell Date: 19 Dec 07 - 03:56 PM Anyone know tuning and basic chords for Uke |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: catspaw49 Date: 19 Dec 07 - 04:15 PM G-C-E-A or any series within those intervals. (sung as "My Dog has fleas") Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Don Firth Date: 19 Dec 07 - 04:20 PM Fingerings for chords are just like the top four strings of the guitar, but the letter-names of the chords are different. The uke makes a good starter instrument for a child who's to small to handle a guitar. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Mikefule Date: 19 Dec 07 - 04:39 PM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele This is one of those cases where Wikipedia is a great resource: when you need facts (rather than opinion) about somethng that attracts "enthusiasts" with enough time on their hands to write in Wikipedia. I had a ukulele many years ago. If I recall correctly, the "second string from the top" (3rd furthest from the ground!)was lower in pitch than the strings each side of it. Something like this: fleas has My Dog Why it's "my dog has fleas" rather than any other sentence of four monosyllables is a mystery. |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: catspaw49 Date: 19 Dec 07 - 04:50 PM What? Everyone who knows MDHF sings Dog lower than My......except perhaps you?(;<)) Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Joe Offer Date: 19 Dec 07 - 07:32 PM "My Dog Has Fleas" was one of the most important songs of my younger life. I may have to buy a ukulele, just to relive those wonderful old times. Spaw, it's so good of you to bring back those old memories. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Dave Swan Date: 19 Dec 07 - 08:47 PM Flea Market Music is a good source of uke information. D |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Leadfingers Date: 19 Dec 07 - 10:32 PM And as far as Chords go , I understand that George Formby only played one set of chords and had a different Banjo uke for what ever key he was singing in . Its a Good Fun instrument though , ESPECIALLY if you can fake a Formby Right Hand |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: number 6 Date: 19 Dec 07 - 10:43 PM "The uke makes a good starter instrument for a child who's to small to handle a guitar." I bought one for my (almost 3 yr. old) grandson. When I presented it to him, he looked it over, threw it on the sofa and went over to one of my guitar cases and said "I want that one". Oh well ... Ukes aren't just for kids, they are actually a fun instrument to play and sing along to. biLL |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: open mike Date: 20 Dec 07 - 12:34 AM There is a whole ukulele craze sweeping the world. I have lots of links i will post here soon. there are festivals, and interest groups forming like wildfire. A few names you can google are Ian Whitcomb,www.picklehead.com/ian.html, Jake Shimabukuro , www.jakeshimabukuro.com/, www.ukulele.org/, www.ukes.com, www.ukulelefestival.org/, www.mark-o.com/ www.pica-org.org/ukulele/index.htm, http://www.ukefestwest.com/, |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: M.Ted Date: 20 Dec 07 - 01:11 AM Back to clarify the answer to the original question: The tuning that you use depends, to some degree, on what kind of uke you have-- The Standard sized uke can be tuned either : g-C-E-A (conveniently referred to as "G" tuning) or a-D-F#-B (conveniently referred to as "A" tuning) The small letter is to indicate that this string is a higher pitch(actually just a step below the highest pitched string). Both of these tunings date back to the early days of uke playing, and both have adherents who will tell you that it is the original, proper, and only way to tune a uke. The Tenor uke (a bit bigger than the standard or concert uke) can be tuned to either G or A tuning, as well. The Baritone uke is tuned: D-G-b-e-- Same as a guitar, but an octave above, and the D string is the low pitch. George Formby did in fact have several instruments tuned differently as explained above, not because he was some kind of idiot who only knew three chord fingerings, but so that he could achieve the open chord sound in a variety of keys--closed position chords on a banjo uke fundamentally change the sound of the instrument-- Two of the best uke players ever were Cliff "Ukulele Ike" -Edwards (the voice of Jiminy Cricket) and Lyle Ritz(still around) who played it as a jazz instrument. |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Ernest Date: 20 Dec 07 - 02:01 AM Links to tab/chord etc sites are here: http://nwfolk.com/uketabs.html Happy picking Ernest |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: nickp Date: 20 Dec 07 - 04:26 AM Check out the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmBaE7ozWow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptlW99wWBWY You can find several other links from them and here's some seasonal mp3s... www.ukuleleorchestra.com/main/ListClips.aspx?Type=1&SessionKey |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: nickp Date: 20 Dec 07 - 04:27 AM ... although with the UOGB I believe the lead uke is tuned as a mandolin to make what is often a complicated melody easier |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Hamish Date: 20 Dec 07 - 05:05 AM And the reason why it's tuned high/low/low/high is because there's actually (usually) only two strings. The first string loops around the bridge and is shared with the fourth. Similarly the second and third strings use the same actual piece of string. Because it's one piece and the different pitches rely on friction around the bridge to keep them from gradually moving closer together, the pitch of the two ends of the same string are kept relatively close together. Hence the first and fourth are only a tone apart; the second and third are two tones. Plus, of course, the first and fourth are narrower gauge then the second/third. -- Hamish |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Ernest Date: 20 Dec 07 - 07:12 AM nickp: I had the same impression regarding the tuning (saw them last year). Can anyone verify? Hamish: never heard of that before - what is your source? The (so far only) set of uke strings I bought contained 4 strings. Best Ernest |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: nickp Date: 20 Dec 07 - 07:32 AM |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: nickp Date: 20 Dec 07 - 07:34 AM Bother - pushed wrong button - Ernest - yes, the mando tuning is from them themselves (I vaguely recall that 2 of them use it all the rest are various Uke tunings). I suspect that Hamish is correctly describing the 'old way' when strings weren't easily available.... |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Hamish Date: 20 Dec 07 - 10:22 AM Indeed, Ernest, I have a cheap old uke and a relatively expensive very old (blue enamel! Jolly Joe) uke and they're both strung like that. I'd rather like a posh new one, but I can already hear my missus asking why I need yet another musical instrument. (I asked her for a washboard and/or a thumb piano last night for Christmas...) Anyway, back to the plot: I'm sure that's why the uke is still usually tuned in that strange way, even if you new fangled kids have four separate strings these days. Progress, eh? -- Hamish |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: katlaughing Date: 20 Dec 07 - 10:35 AM nickp, thanks for the links. What fun! I esp. liked this one: Click. My sisters have had baritone ukes since the 1960's and they've always had four strings. I just bought new strings for a cheapie that my grandson likes to play. His cat plays it, too, by plucking it with her teeth! So the uke has cross-species appeal.:-) |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 20 Dec 07 - 10:47 AM I have my uke tuned mandolin/banjo/fiddle tuning - GDAE, using standard nylon guitar strings. Works very well, and I prefer the sound. |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: clueless don Date: 20 Dec 07 - 11:06 AM open mike mentioned Jake Shimabukuro. If the subject is ukeleles, I can't resist posting this link . My apologies if this has already been posted or alluded to. Don |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Cap't Bob Date: 21 Dec 07 - 12:24 AM Anyone familiar with frailing or clawhammer on the banjo will find it rather easy to use these techniques on the uke. If you like modal tunes try tuning the uke to G C F G and frail something like Shady Grove. Cap't Bob |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Doug Chadwick Date: 21 Dec 07 - 02:42 AM And the reason why it's tuned high/low/low/high is because there's actually (usually) only two strings. The first string loops around the bridge and is shared with the fourth. Similarly the second and third strings use the same actual piece of string. Not on my ukulele. Mine came from the shop with four separate strings. I bought my uke a couple of months ago after seeing a YouTube video of Joe Brown singing "I'll See You In My Dreams". I only went into the shop to by a music book but they didn't have what I wanted and I came out with a ukulele. Until this week, I was a ukulele virgin but Tuesday night I gave my first public performance. It didn't go as well as it might have done but I got there in the end. DC |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: Jim Lad Date: 21 Dec 07 - 05:14 AM "And the reason why it's tuned high/low/low/high is because there's actually (usually) only two strings. The first string loops around the bridge and is shared with the fourth. Similarly the second and third strings use the same actual piece of string." No. That's just a cheap Uke. The reason is much simpler than that though. It's a strumming instrument and by tuning it the way it is, the upstroke sounds very similar to the down stroke which lends continuity. Particularly when strummed rapidly. I learned ukulele back in the seventies and now play Tenor Guitar & Bouzouki using the exact same chords. I wouldn't knock the Uke. It's as good an instrument as any. The only thing it really lacks is volume. |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: nickp Date: 21 Dec 07 - 05:49 AM Yep, a bit quiet... go for a banjo uke!!!! |
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Subject: RE: Uke From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 21 Dec 07 - 06:12 PM It's a strumming instrument if you prefer to play it that way. The same goes for the guitar and the banjo. And its a good way to play at that, just not the only way. The only thing it really lacks is volume. That can be an advantage - and I don't just mean that as a joke about bad playing. It's a great instrument to play which doesn't intrude on other people - that's where it's handy having the mandolin/banjo tuning for practising and for trying out tunes for those instruments. |
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