You can carefully use some tweezers to free any knotted strings. We recommend that beginners cut their strings so there isn’t extra to get in the way, confuse you etc. Once the strings are attached to the bridge, you can now fasten them to the tuning pegs. As you tighten the tuning machine guide the string through the nut of your ukulele so that it winds from the bottom to the top. Once the string is tight, cut the excess length off. Christopher Davis-Shannon multi-Instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, and educator based in Philadelphia. Insert the string in the tuning peg Insert the long end of the string through the hole and pull it 2 or 3 frets back. Then loop of the string around itself about three times. Once the old strings are off the bridge, you can start to put in the new strings. A pair of wire cutters, sharp scissors or string cutters. If you break a string you should change the entire set so that the strings remain consistent. Depending on the quality of the strings used and how often you play your ukulele, changing the strings can be done monthly or every six months. If this is the case, you can use a bridge pin puller or, in most cases, simply a small tug with your fingers to remove the pin. Tie a knot at the very end of the string, leaving about half an inch (about 1.5 cm) of string on one end of the knot. We understand the nervousness and the hesitancy that many first timers experience. Isaiah David is a freelance writer and musician living in Portland, Ore. Remove the strings from the bridge. Whether your old strings are worn out, you want to try a new tone, or your strings are broken, part of learning to play the uke is learning how to restring a ukulele. Its larger size and different tuning makes it sound closer to a classical guitar than a ukulele. A “low-G” ukulele string is a slight tuning variation from standard GCEA. If you want to get really good at playing the ukulele, it stands to reason that your instrument will need strings on it. Happily, the Internet is awash in high-quality video lessons like this one from the folks at Hawaii Music Supply. Now that the string is fixed at the bridge you can bring it up to the tuning peg. When you are playing professionally you can do whatever you’d like with your strings! On the tie bar bridge, you'll need to send the string back through the loop to get it off the bridge. There are several …, It won’t come as a surprise to most people that the best way to get better at Ukulele is to, …, There are a ton of reasons to get your children into playing music at an early age. This will depend on what type of bridge you have. Slightly tighten the new strings 5. There is not perfect answer to this but there are a few things to look out for. This depends highly on how often you play your ukulele as well as your body composition. That said, many casual players can go nearly a year without needing to change their strings. Repeat all these steps with the remaining three strings and try to re-tune them once you are finished with all four. 1. To Restring Your Ukulele You Will Need: A new string (or set of strings) to replace the old one (s). A baritone ukulele is much bigger than the common “soprano” ukulele, at 30 inches (76 cm) in length and with a scale length of 20 in (51 cm). Steps to Carry Out Restringing of Ukulele 1. Tenor, concert, and soprano ukulele are generally tunes GCEA (With either a high or Low G). The decision on what type of string to use really comes down to personal preference but also figuring out the type of string that best compliments your own ukulele. I don't know if this question has already been asked and answered. Aquila is known for their bright tone and ample volume. It is a big help to a lot of less expensive ukulele and also the preferred choice on many expensive ones. Once the ukulele restringing process is done, and you can now play your instrument. The Baritone is a perfect crossover for most guitar players who want to try the ukulele. Don’t worry about what your favorite players use but experiment and find the strings that suit your style and your instrument. It would be best if you restring ukulele when you notice the tone starts to sound odd. New strings take a while to settle in so don’t get discouraged if you need to tune your ukulele every couple of minutes. Changing the strings of your ukulele includes 5 steps. Unlike many other types of string instruments we are lucky in that our strings are relatively inexpensive and thus much easier to try new types. Having put good strings on my good ukulele, and great strings on my great ukulele, I thought I’d put comically cheap strings on my cheap ukulele. Like many things, the more often you work through this process the faster and easier it will get! Tighten Strings. Do not be rough when untying the knot, and this might damage the bridge. A rubbish bin nearby, to put string offcuts in once you are done with them. And it can be very easy to overlook this fact and accidentally get the wrong size. A baritone string is a pretty straightforward piece of equipment. Once the string is loose enough, The first decision that you need to make is what type of, This gives the small instrument a larger range and can be very beneficial for fingerstyle pieces. You have entered an incorrect email address! When you are tune up your ukulele and snip the excess ends off of the strings. Do not restring your ukulele immediately before a performance. When shopping for strings you will also have to decided on the tuning that you plan to use on the instrument. It would be hard to find someone walking down the streets that didn’t know what a guitar was. 3. These measure in at 19 inches in scale, and at 30 inches in total length. The better you maintain them, the better your instrument will sound. You can tighten the strings by turning the tuner once the strings are safely fastened … You don’t want to damage your instrument after all! You find yourself tuning your ukulele a lot more then you used to do. It all depends if you have already tightened that previous E string yet. Standard bridge: Leave about half an inch off the end of the string and tie a knot. Remove the old strings- Remove the old strings and wipe down your uke with a damp cloth. Lastly, we have the Baritone at 30 inches. But it has enough variations to be confusing and frustrating to shop for. It is arguable that the most important part of your ukulele is the strings. This gives the small instrument a larger range and can be very beneficial for fingerstyle pieces. It is important to create this break angle so that the string stays in place in the nut. You do this simply by just turning your tuning keys to loosen the strings. A ubass/ bass ukulele is a totally different thing to a baritone ukulele. Baritones ukulele are tuned much like the top four strings of a guitar: DGBE. A great trick if you are playing soprano is that many times there is enough string in the package to get two full sets out of it! You can now slide the knot into the slot in the bridge and pull the string towards the head-stock. I have come across dozens of players in the shop over the years that play around with single classical guitar strings to acheive High D tuning and even more people that are crazy enough to buy two sets of strings each time they restring a Ukulele so that they can pinch the .028 gauge E … Below are five easy steps to guide you on ways to properly restring your ukulele; To properly remove old strings the first step is to put the ukulele on a flat surface and loosen the first string using the tuning peg until it can effortlessly slip off the tuning peg. Strings need to be purchased for the scale of the instrument (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone) as the gauge of the strings is dependent on the scale length. In this guide I’ll walk you through everything you need to implement a low-G string on your uke. You will slide the string through the whole the bridge, bring it back towards the head and loop the string around the other portion of the string 3 times. The biggest of all ukuleles are baritone ukuleles. 4. The know goes in the slot the the bottom of the bridge and you pull the string right. NOTE: While it may be possible to cut longer strings for a smaller ukulele, many wound strings will unravel if cut, and therefore, it’s just easier to m… How to restring a ukulele can be quite a hustle, especially if it’s your first time, but once you understand what to do, it will be painless in the future. It is easiest to change one string at a time starting with the G, especially if you have a banjolele with a floating bridge. And what better way to get a plinky-dinky cheap sound than fishing line? Keep in mind that the nut slots may not be perfect, especially if you ukulele is set up for low G tuning but many times this is not the case. Unfortunately, "Toy Guitar" doesn't really mean very much except for … Secure the new strings to the bridge 3. StringVibe is a participant in several affiliate programs, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising The standard baritone ukulele strings are lower in pitch than the standard ukulele tuning. program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Try them out! Why Magic Fluke Ukuleles are in a Class All Their Own. Repeat this process for all four strings. Ubass use a different type of string to the normal ukulele set and sound somewhere between an acoustic bass and upright a sound all of their own. With a wide range of tone woods and premium features, Lanikai provides you with inspiration that sparks creativity and fuels musical passion. Writer Bio. This can seem like a daunting task to many beginner players but rest assured that with a few simple tips you’ll be able to restring your ukulele in no time at all. For pegs, you simply remove the peg and remove the string. The first step to restringing your ukulele is to remove your strings. While the traditional ukulele tuning is gCEA (or up a whole step aDF#B), or reentrant tuning that has a G string that is an octave and a fifth higher than the C, Low G tuning is becoming increasingly more popular. The first step is to release the string till it slides off the tuning peg. If your  strings are starting to sound dead or always out of tune it is best to change them. Slide that end of the string into the metal pin on the tuning peg. You will want to check the tuning of your instrument for the first five to ten times you play after restringing your instrument. 5. So first things first, make sure you’re getting the right size. There is an essentially endless list of companies that manufacture ukulele strings. Best Beginner Left Handed Ukulele. Ukulele with new strings Of course with the last string you will have to cut off the excess or you tan tuck it back under the last string. If you have a classical guitar style tie-bar bridge you will have to loosen the knot to remove the string. If there was a magic string that made us all sound like Jake Shimabukuro I assure you that we would all play it! Pull this knot tight and secure  the tail of the string on the back of the bridge. Restringing a Ukulele with Fishing Line By missy February 28, 2012 August 4, 2014 Crafts, Ukulele. Over the past few months, I've found that I much prefer the tone and feel of the standard Aquila Nylgut high-G (gCEA) strings that I have on my soprano and tenor ukes to the low-D (DGBE, 2 wound strings) set on my Kala baritone. As you probably already know, ukuleles come in 4 standard sizes: 1. Tie Bar Bridge – This one is a bit trickier and may take some practice to perfect. I bet …, You might be wondering, is the ukulele a good first instrument? Ukulele strings do not often break as they are made from nylon, but you might find yourself in a predicament where you need to change the strings. My wife's baritone ukulele has arrived so all we need to do is add the E … Loop the part that is sticking out behind the string on top of the bridge. It’s a more contemporary sound that is gaining popularity every day. How Often Do You Need to Restring Your Ukulele? They also differ from the standard ukulele as they are not in re-entrant tuning i.e. There are multiple steps you’ll need, including how to remove old strings and fit new ones properly without causing any damage to the bridge or the tuning pegs. Tucking the strings in is mostly to keep the saddle area looking tidy. Tie-bar bridge: Slide one side of the string into the bridge hole and leave out an inch of sticking out from the bridge’s end. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Learning how to string your ukulele is an essential skill that every player should have and once you do it a few times you’ll find that it is a quite simple process. They are tuned to DGBE (the same as the top four strings of a guitar). Hold the straight taunt with your free hand and pull strings upwards to ensure its winding downwards towards the bottom on the tuning peg. the strings go from low to high. 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