How do I avoid using the wrong tuning scale?
The fretboard is a scale which has a scale degree of 5/8th. When ukuleles get more popular, these scales get bigger and bigger and some new ways to tune it may be required to avoid problems. Here’s an example:
If we take the fretboard we want, and try increasing the scale a quarter note (5/8, in this way), it will get really big, right? Maybe. That’s where scale degrees come in: They specify a scale degree that you cannot tune all the way up without losing something: In this case the string is 1 string, not 0 strings, so you will lose the lowest string and your other strings will also be wrong. What you’ve said is that a scale degree of one string cannot be used to tune the other strings up. However, if you tune up to scale degree 4, you will still have those other strings. But you have to go a long way to go back to scale 2. That doesn’t mean that going to scale 1 won’t work – if you were tuning down to scale 1 you would be fine – but a scale degree of one string can only be used for tuning other strings or tuning down, not up. As a result that scale degree is called “root scale.” This makes it hard for beginners to keep track of different scales for different tunings. To learn more about scale degrees, see: How Are Scales Different for a Tuned String? (page 438)
What is string tuning?
Strictly speaking, string tuning is not true tuning: there is no true scale. Instead a single note is taken in the key of A, D, or E depending on the tuning of ukuleles. Tuning a string to a certain scale can only affect the pitch it emits (and hence is not true tuning) . It is not impossible for a string to sound the same in three different tunings, but it is unlikely, especially for beginners, because they would need one string tuned in four different scales. As a result there is nothing to learn about tuning a string by ear. It can be done mechanically, but that is the kind of practice that usually works best for those that are used to the key of 1 on acoustic or electric instruments.
What is a scale, and why are the scales different for different key sizes?
The major scale is a set of five major (A, C, D