Types of ukulele: differences and tool history

In the world there is a wide variety of musical instruments. There are those that are popular and known in all countries of the world, for example, pianoforte, guitar, accordion. And there are ethnic, which are not so common in everyday life and many people are not at all familiar (for example, sitar, vargan or trembita).

It is interesting that all the instruments that have gained worldwide popularity were once characteristic of only a small community of people. Only in the course of time they became widespread. Here and ukulele, Hawaiian folk instrument, literally over the past few years has gained popularity throughout the world. Let's deal with the specifics of this tool and talk about what kinds of ukulele you can meet.

Ukulele - what is it?

The history of this tool began in the century before last, around the 1880s. On the island of Madeira (one of the autonomous regions of Portugal) at one time was popular little guitar - brahinja. Ukulele, in fact, is a kind or logical continuation of the Portuguese instrument.

The Hawaiian guitar has only 4 strings, although there are such kinds of ukulele that have eight strings (4 pairs of twin strings are stretched on such instruments).

Types of ukulele and instrument range

It is understood that such a miniature instrument with a small number of strings is simply not enough to cover a large range of notes. Nevertheless, its sound can rejoice the hearing.

What kinds of ukulele are there? The separation follows the length of the tool. Different versions of the instrument have a different pitch, which allows you to collect mini-orchestras and play music that has a beautiful surround sound. A small guitar is widely used as a miniature rhythmic instrument for the accompaniment of songs.

The main types of ukulele and their differences can be described as follows:

• The soprano - whose length is 53 centimeters - is the most common because of its compactness. By the way, this was the first ukulele.
• Concert Hawaiian guitar - differs in that its length is more by 5 centimeters. By the way, thanks to the size, the instrument sounds louder.
• Tenor - the length is 66 centimeters.
• Baritone and bass - both options are almost the same length, but slightly different sound.

What form can be ukulele?

Types of ukulele can differ and design. The body of such a guitar can take absolutely any form - it all depends on the master's inspiration. There are also classic mini-guitars, and round, and triangular and even square.

How to tune a miniature guitar?

Let's discuss the question of how to customize the most common kind of ukulele - "Soprano". It should be noted that the main types of ukulele are completed with nylon strings.

In order for your instrument to sound right and your guitar to match the standard fingering chords, it's worth using the tuner or tuning the instrument by ear with a tuning fork. Strings are numbered from the very top, if you keep the guitar on your lap top deck to yourself. The standard system for ukulele is BEFORE the first octave, it is also called C-tuning (GCEA).

1. A4 (tuning fork 440 hertz).
2. E4.
3. C4.
4. G4.

Guitar lovers will be surprised by the fact that the strings do not decrease in height, the fourth string is tuned no lower than what happens with an ordinary guitar, but on the contrary, higher, in one octave with the rest.

Uculele type "Baritone" - is tuned similarly to four strings of an ordinary guitar:

1. E4.
2. B3.
3. G3.
4. D3.

Conclusion

The Hawaiian guitar is an excellent marching instrument for accompaniment. The technique of the game is quite simple, and soft nylon strings can easily take chords (by the way, many of them can be taken with one or two fingers). You can always take such a tool, going on a visit to friends, entertain yourself and the company at a big table. On the Internet there are many songs for ukulele, and you can always find your favorite music and perform it on a miniature guitar.