Looking For Baritone Ukuleles For Sale?

There are three other sizes besides the baritone ukulele which are the soprano, tenor and concert. It is a member of the guitar family and like the guitar it is termed a chordophone.

It was first brought to Hawaii in the nineteenth century by Portuguese immigrants and became immediately immensely popular. These instruments came to the United States in the twentieth century where they gained popularity and then traveled over the seas and on internationally.

The baritones are the largest of the ukuleles for sale and were made 'trendy' by one of America's most prominent entertainers, Arthur Godfrey.

Arthur Godfrey played a huge part in redesigning the instrument in the late 1940's. He played it in his shows on radio, television and personal appearances, and as a result its popularity grew.

Stringed instruments made from cigar boxes were popular during the nineteenth century and ukuleles had their time as a cigar box stringed instrument. They were made from a cigar box and had a broom handle through it going from top to bottom. The instrument had three strings. The sound and tone did not vary with each hand made instrument.

Baritone ukulele chords sound much like the chords of a conventional guitar, and there are strings of a special gauge that will enable you to change its sound.

Many families are getting away from the television after dinner routine and going back to some of the old ways, such as when sitting on the front porch swing and having a sing-a-long while someone played a stringed instrument was a way of life. It was an easier, happier, more comfortable and less stressful way of life.

Why not recreate that happy atmosphere in your family by purchasing a baritone ukulele?

Tuning a Baritone Ukulele

Most stringed instruments are built in various ranges in terms of the voice they sound. For example, the well-known string instruments that make up the traditional Western string quartet, violin, viola, cello and bass, constitute the soprano, alto, tenor and baritone voices, respectively. Though it is sometimes thought of as a less serious instrument than the aforementioned, there are versions of ukuleles built that occupy those same voices, relative to the pitches of other ukuleles. Baritone ukulele tuning does not approach the depths of pitch so effectively navigated by a bass, but relative to other ukuleles it provides a lush canvas on which to paint the higher melodies of multi-part pieces.

Baritone ukulele tuning presents the player with two options. One may tune the instrument to the pitches G-C-E-A, as is the traditional tuning for ukuleles or one may opt for a guitar tuning. The guitar tuning utilizes the same pitches as the highest-pitched strings on a guitar, D-G-B-E. This latter tuning presents some advantages over others. For starters, there will be less tension placed on the neck due to the more slack strings. It also has playability advantage for those unfamiliar with the standard ukulele tuning.

The higher-pitched tuning, G-C-E-A, may make it easier to move from one ukulele voice to another, but there will be definite tradeoffs. The higher pitches, combined with the larger strings of the baritone ukulele, mean that the neck may be bowed by constant tuning to these pitches. Thicker strings under higher tensions are also harder to fret. Those who use this baritone ukulele tuning may find sounding a clear note a more demanding task than those who opt for the slack strings. For those who read sheet music, this tuning does have the advantage of requiring fewer ledger lines than the other tuning.

The guitar-style tuning, D-G-B-E, has its own advantages and disadvantages. If one is a skilled guitarist, the advantage is obvious. The difference between utilizing this tuning on a ukulele and a guitar is comparable to the difference between using British or American English: same language, slightly different sounds. This tuning is also easier on the neck and the tuning pegs, as there is significantly less tension than in the higher tuning. Tuning either range requires that one knows the correct procedure for tuning a ukulele or any other stringed instrument.

A tuning fork or an electronic meter can be used to get a good baritone ukulele tune. After the first strings are set, however, one must adjust the tuning a few times to get it right. Changing from one tuning to another will likely require some fine tuning to get the exact pitches to sound. Tuning devices are excellent tools but, ultimately, a stringed instrument has to be tuned to itself to sound a harmonious voice. This takes a bit of skill to do correctly, but those who are experienced guitarists will know the process well. Those who play any other ukulele will also have little difficulty.