Baritone Ukelele Tuning
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The ukulele is a string instrument belonging to the family of guitars. It is usually associated with Hawaiian music. The ukulele comes in four sizes, the Soprano, Concert, Tenor and the Baritone.
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The baritone ukulele is the largest member of the ukulele family and the Soprano being the smallest member of the family.
Created in the late 1940s, the baritone ukelele’s scale length (the length of the playable area of the strings) is about 19 inches (48 cm) while the total length is about 30 inches (75 cm). There is no standard shape for the baritone ukulele, and therefore, it is found in various shapes such as oval, boat-paddle shape, or even a square shape. The body color can vary from white to blue while the body material can vary from plastic to wood.
In contrast to the other ukuleles, baritone ukuleles are not re-entrant tuned. Instead, the 4-string tenor are tuned D-G-B-E (low to high), matching the tuning of the four highest strings of a guitar. The baritone ukulele, therefore has a great similarity with a guitar and people familiar with playing a guitar can start playing the baritone ukulele right away because the 4 strings of the baritone ukulele are usually tuned like the top four strings of a guitar. Therefore, they do not find playing the baritone ukulele difficult.
One can always tune the baritone ukulele like a soprano, concert or tenor ukulele, but since the body of the baritone is larger, it sounds richer when tuned lower. Moreover, there is always a persistent fear of the baritone strings getting broken due to increased string tension. It may even cause other damages like bowing the neck or breaking the bridge off the top of the instrument due to increased string tension.
There are several reasons why a baritone ukulele can go out of tune and require tuning from time to time. The first reason is that of the two types of tuning pegs (friction tuners and geared tuners), the friction tuners, which are firmly held in position by washers, (which are made up of plastic fiber), get loosened because of wear and tear of these washers. However, the geared tuners are comparatively less prone to slip and get loosened than the friction tuners. The most feasible option in this case is to replace the old washers with new ones.
Another reason why a baritone ukulele can go out of tune and require tuning is because the strings are either too loose or too taut and stretched. Changes in the physical environment such as changes in the temperature or humidity can cause the strings to either get loosened or become all the more taut. Moreover, if the strings used are new, it takes some time for them to get set. It is therefore, advisable to always tune the baritone ukulele before playing it. However, while tuning, the strings should only be stretched to the optimum level to give the correct note.
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