Guest blogger Emily Harris from the Get Offset podcast contributes again, with an this guide to the essential Tenor Guitar chords you need to know...
One of the best things about the tenor guitar is the vast array of versatile tunings it can accomodate. It makes it easier for people who started on everything from six-string guitars to mandolins to violins to pick up a new instrument.
Whether you already play a stringed instrument or if a tenor guitar is your first, we wanted to put together a resource to help you explore new tunings or get your bearings on the tenor guitar. Below we’ll go over some of the most popular tenor guitar tunings and the different chord shapes in each.
How To Choose The Right Ukulele
With all of the following tunings, the first step to learning chords is learning where the root notes are. Once you know the root notes on a fretboard, you can take any chord shape and move it along the fretboard with ease.
The red dot on each chord chart shows where the root note for the chord is. For some chords, the root note is in the same place for each set of shapes. For others, especially the open chords, the position of the root note changes. That means it’s important to truly commit the notes in a fretboard to memory.
This tuning is exactly like the top four strings of a standard six-string guitar (the four highest strings). It’s also commonly used for baritone ukuleles. That makes it an excellent tuning for those who are transitioning to tenor guitar from either the six-string guitar or the baritone ukulele.
Tenor Ukulele Tuning
This tuning should be familiar to anyone who plays a mandolin, and it’s the tuning Warren Ellis uses on songs like “Jubilee Street” with Nick Cave. it’s a great tuning for those who are looking for a wide tonal range.
The open D tuning is a great starting point for alternative tunings. It’s also a great tuning for those who are looking to play slide guitar, as barring any fret straight across creates a major chord. Of course, you can play a lot more than major chords with an open tuning!
Where are our Rolling Stones fans? Keith Richards is a fan of this tuning which, as you’ll see below, uses essentially the same chord shapes as the Open D tuning.
Banjo Ukulele Tuning
This tuning is just like the lower four strings of a guitar. You can play p ower chords with this tuning, but that’s not all you can do. Below, you’ll find simplified versions of major, minor, and seventh chords.We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page..
Here’s a good video of the pitches used in High G tuning so you can tune to your uke to the pitches.
Start off with each string loose, then slowly tighten it and pluck it as the desired pitch plays until both the string and the desired pitch sound identical.
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You’ll notice when a string is in-tune to the desired pitch, there will be no “warble” in the sound as both are played simultaneously.
Linear tuning means the uke is tuned like most stringed instruments with the strings in order from the top string having the lowest pitch, to the bottom string having the highest.
This gives the uke a deeper sound and higher range of available notes, but takes away the bright more typical ukulele sound.
Dupont Uk 100 Tenor Cutaway
A 6-string tenor ukulele typically is tuned similarly to the standard GCEA tuning (it can be high G or low G), except that the C and A strings are doubled.
An 8-string tenor, on the other hand, is typically tuned with each string doubled (4 sets of 2) and still tuned to GCEA, but the C and G string pairs are not identical.
This number can change depending on the types of strings used and the exact construction of the ukulele.What are the Fretboard Notes of a Tenor Ukulele?
String Tenor Guitar Resources
For low G tuning, the fretboard notes are the same (except the G string’s notes are an octave lower), but I decided to make a separate image for Low G Tenor tuning in case it comes in handy for someone.
Most electronic tuners you will come across will be clip-on tuners that clip-on to the head of your uke (hence the name).
When you pluck a string, the tuner reads the vibration and displays the closest note (F#, C, Db, etc.) to the current frequency of the string, and will usually indicate whether the pitch is too high, too low, or exactly on the mark.
Tbanjo: Say Old Man, Is That A Tenor Guitar Or A Baritone Ukulele?
The banjo body just alters the sound/volume of the instrument, but the playing, whether a banjo or wood-body ukulele, remains the same.
For more info on banjo ukulele tuning, check out our dedicated Banjo Ukulele tuning article.What are the Common chords of a Tenor Ukulele?
As stated above, the tenor and soprano ukulele are both traditionally tuned with the same setup (GCEA re-entrant), and can also both often be tuned to low G (GCEA linear) tuning, though the latter is more common on tenor than soprano.
Ukulele Tuning Tips
The concert ukulele is also usually tuned in the same manner, but the baritone uses a different system (DGBE linear).Why is the tenor ukulele tuned with Re-entrant tuning?
According to these sources, the animal gut either couldn’t be thick enough or it was too expensive, and so a higher string was used on top rather than lower.
Regardless of why re-entrant tuning was originally used, the end result is that ukuleles in this tuning setup have a brighter, happier sound when strummed, as both down strums and up strums end on a relatively high pitch.
Eagle Puretone Tenor Banjo Gcea Ukulele Tuning 9, 12, 18w 26w
Our minds likely associate the higher pitches to happier feelings due to their connection with children’s voices, baby animals, birds chirping, etc.
As opposed to deeper-pitched sound sources which the mind could associate with thunder, earthquakes, dangerous animals, etc.Can I tune a Tenor Ukulele with Baritone (DGBE) tuning?
There are string sets available for tenor ukulele with both DGBE linear (standard baritone) tuning, as well as DGBE high-D re-entrant tuning.Tuning an Electric Tenor Ukulele
Kala Tenor Ukulele
This goes for other sized ukuleles (and instruments in general) as well, being electric does not typically alter the instrument’s tuning options.
Both are also sometimes tuned with low-G tuning, but more commonly on the tenor ukulele than the concert.Tenor Ukulele vs. Baritone Tuning
Linear here means the top string is the lowest, and each string under it is higher than the previous, with the bottom string being the highest.
Full Carbon Tenor Ukulele
In ukulele construction, the scale length is the distance from the saddle (part of the body which holds the strings) to the nut (part on the neck that keeps the strings in position and directs them to their tuning parts).
On a tenor banjo ukulele, the saddle would be the bridge, the wooden part that rests on the drum head and keeps the strings in position.
The range of your tenor uke depends on 2 factors. 1. the tuning system used (normally high G or low G) and 2. the number of frets on your instrument.
Ukulele Vs. Guitar: What's The Difference?
The tuning system will impact the lowest note of your range (Middle C for high G tuning, and the G below middle C for low G).
If your ukulele had 12 frets, the highest available note would be A5 (one octave above A4 which is the A above middle C).
But most likely your tenor uke has around 18 frets, which means the highest available note would be Eb/D#6 (2 octaves above the Eb above middle C) as you get an additional 6 pitches from the 6 frets.
Ff16us The Tenor Guitar Chord Bible: Standard & Irish Tuning
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