How Does One Tune a Ukulele?

74hc

74hc

Nov 19, 2015
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#1
So, a year ago, my wife brought home a ukulele from her place of employment. She was doing locker clean out after the school year and somebody left it in a locker. District policy is that everything left goes into the dumpster.

It's a Makala MK-T, and all I have are guitar tuners. Internet says it's a tenor uk which sounds good to me.

(speaking of tenors, I miss the TX tenors gig reports).
 
#2
So take the four highest pitched strings on a guitar, then put a capo on the fifth fret. Congratulations, you've got the tuning for a tenor ukulele with a low-G, GCEA. What if it's got strings for high G? That's a good question, take the top string, and tune it up an octave. Yes, that's right, it's a thing, it's called re-entrant tuning and it's more common on the smaller ones, but you can see it on tenors as well. The chords don't sound as deep because they just don't go that low, but it allows you to do some pretty sweet finger picking tricks.

Enjoy the uke, it's a lazy afternoon on a hammock watching the day go by.
 
#3
pie_man_25 said:
Enjoy the uke, it's a lazy afternoon on a hammock watching the day go by.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a straw hat and an appropriate beverage of choice would be well advised. ;)

Oh and maybe some Cheap Sunglasses just to keep it lively. :cool::cool::cool::smug:
 
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#4
tenor-ukulele-tuning.gif


This seems familiar, from 50 or so years ago.
 
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#10
MD said:
Back in the 1960's, my dad taught me the "My Dog Has Fleas" song for tuning a uke.

My Dog Has Fleas - Ukulele Tuning

To this day, I can still sing, hum, whistle or grunt that tune. I don't play uke, or have any plans on starting, but I'll always know how to tune it.
Click to expand...


^^^This. Until I read this post I don't think I ever even thought about the note names, it was always just My Dog Has Fleas.
 
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#11
I tune my soprano uke A-D-F#-B because a song book my grandfather gave me has all of the songs written for that tuning. I'd like to get a tenor uke, though, because I prefer its sound to the soprano.
 
#18
I took Ukulele lessons when I was in the third grade... to tune it, they had some saying of "My dog has fleas"... in hindsight I have to wonder if it was just a case of someone wanting to screw with peoples minds. I was once cursed for putting the Shark song on TB... I suspect worse might happen for linking the video below.

 
#20
MD said:
Back in the 1960's, my dad taught me the "My Dog Has Fleas" song for tuning a uke.

My Dog Has Fleas - Ukulele Tuning

To this day, I can still sing, hum, whistle or grunt that tune. I don't play uke, or have any plans on starting, but I'll always know how to tune it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the tip! As a tenor uke player, your tip is really useful.

I never had heard that song before. Now it's forever burned in my memory. I just use it to check the tuning of my uke and it worked! Thanks!



In the other hand...

 
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