Baritone GCEAīaritone ukuleles ( check the best models for beginners on this website) have always been tuned as DGBE. You will find this slide tuning works best on concert, tenor, or baritone ukes as the soprano may be a bit small. This unique slide tuning will allow you to play some great slide blues for the ukulele.

On the uke you are only moving up one and a half steps to Bb so it shouldn’t be too big a deal. If you go too far up in tuning you may break the string or damage the instrument. Whenever you are experimenting with an alternate tuning, always slowly tune anything UP. In this tuning you are moving the A up to a Bb, so be careful. Just lightly touch all the strings and play your slide uke. The key is that your slide covers all the strings and that you don’t press the slide all the way down to the frets. If you want, you can turn the uke on its side and play it like a mini lap steel. You want to make sure you use a slide that isn’t to heavy, remember a simple Bic lighter makes a great slide for instruments. The 7 th chord is the hallmark of blues, so with a slide uke tuning you can play some slide blues on the uke. However as long as you are light on the slide you can play slide ukulele! Instead of G-C-E-A change the A to Bb, that gives you G-C-E-Bb which is a C7. Most folks think about lap steels and guitars for using slide playing. This tuning also works great on many other instruments, especially the guitar. This tuning works best while playing in the key of C and with C scales. By moving it two positions up and fretting 2222 you have a D chord. Of course this means that all your normal chord positions are different, if you strum all the strings without any frets down you already have a C chord. This means your slack key tuning on the uke is G-C-E-G. To make this tuning you take the last A string and detune it down to G. It is a method of taking certain strings and detuning or slacking them. Slack-Key TuningĪccording to oral historic account slack key tuning originated in Hawaii. These days I prefer to tune my concert and tenor ukulele with a special low G string, I prefer the sound. The most famous use of this tuning is by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (known as Iz) in the song “ Over The Rainbow.” By far this is the most famous uke song these days and many people do not realize that Iz used a special low G on his uke. The low G tuning requires a special wound string you have to order specific strings to make this tuning. On a normal uke the C string is the lowest note, but occasionally folks like to tune the first G note to a lower G, but that takes a special string.

This is not so much an alternate tuning as it is a varying method to tune GCEA. D-tuning however should not be overlooked and is perfect for songs that are in the Key of A because it’s easier to play that dreaded E chord! Low-G Tuning It’s surprising that this tuning is not used more often, however by using GCEA the new student has an easier time of learning. If you have ever played in D tuning it has a perfect ukulele sound. A half step is one note and a whole step is two notes so a whole step from G is A, a whole step from C is D, from E to F# (remember there is no E#!), and the last A to B. Now for those who know their music theory we have simply moved a step up in the tuning. Find any sheet music from the 1930’s or before for uke and they often use D tuning which is A-D-F#-B. Ironically this is now an alternate tuning these days, but years ago this is how ukes were normally tuned. Ready to experiment? Grab your tuner or visit, and try one of the following alternate tunings! However, there is always room for experimentation with music and it is fun to try some different tunings. It was also common in old country music of Hank Williams and other early stars of that era. Because the uke only has four strings this C6 is also known as A minor 7 or Am7, but that is a discussion for another time.Ĭ6 tuning is also used for lap steel guitars, it is the tuning that gives instruments that “Hawaiian feel.” Most often when you here music that has an island mood to it, C6 is used. These notes (GCEA) make up a C6 chord, The C is the root and bass note, the E is the 3 rd, G is the 5 th, and the A is the 6 th making it a C6 chord. The most common tuning for a ukulele is G-C-E-A,when each string is played starting at the G it gives us the famous “My dog has fleas!” My (G) Dog (C) Has (E) Fleas (A), a popular method of singing this tuning.

Ukelele tuner