CUATRO TUNING ON A UKULELE

In this video I explain what what cuatro tuning is and demonstrate how it sounds on a baritone ukulele. The difference in sound is really striking.
Venezuelan cuatros are tuned in a similar way to a linear tuned ukulele. The difference is that the 1st string is tuned one octave lower. This mean that the top string is now the 2nd and the 1st string is very close in pitch to the 4th. The outcome is a beautifully rich sound.

[@rauldelgado7033]

I will always be on debt! Thanks for sharing our culture, *PROUDLY VENEZUELAN*

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Many thanks for your comments, Raúl.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Many thanks for your comment,

[@MyVenezolanisima]

Excellent!!! I'm looking to buy an alternative to a cuatro since I can't find them here. Baritone seems a great alternative!! Awesome!!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes indeed, Orietta. On the baritone uke the GCEa tuning works really well.

[@alfonsofernandez4450]

Hola soy de Venezuela y me encanto el video saludos desde caracas!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Gracias y saludos desde Inglaterra, Alfonso.

[@JeroIron]

Oh thank you. I'm Swedish and traditionally we tune our ukuleles in D apparently. Now, I already have a cuatro from Venezuela and I have always wanted to learn ukulele and this explanation just made me realise I already know all the chords. That is super helpful.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

[@DanielPerez-vt5ez]

Best tuning in my opinion! Always wanted to buy a baritone ukulele and tune it like a Venezuelan cuatro. Hard to find full scale pro Venezuelan cuatro. Glad I found your video. 🙂

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes, it is becoming a popular tuning. I have just sold a couple of sets.

[@fatimapalacios2292]

Great video, greetings from Venezuela.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Hi Fatima. Thanks for watching.

[@cesarsalazartovar]

Very useful and interesting information. Greetings from Venezuela! 🧒🏻🎶🎸🎤🙏🏻

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks very much.

[@oldcrow6990]

Thanks, I had no idea that I would have so many options!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Some options are better than others. This one is very good. The best option for a baritone is regular DGBE tuning though.

[@aprendedefinlandiaconunfin9359]

Good video and playing. I personally own a cuatro and like that tuning. It has kind of a calming sound, not too high. And that tuning seems to work nicely on a baritone ukulele as well.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks for listening and commenting.

[@UKISOCIETY]

Wow that baritone sounds great in that tuning. Very interesting!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes, this tuning impressed even me, Alan.

[@supermarioantonio]

Excellent conversion

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks Mario.

[@davidmc8478]

I just switched my tenor ukulele from dGBe to GCElowA after this video. It’s pretty cool and mellow. Sounds re-entrant in its own way. I play a little guitar so using the E string for melody is not as hard as i thought.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Excellent! Glad you like it.

[@cecicestmoi]

i have a set of Ken's LW cuatro tuning string on my Ohana baritone in GCEA tuning and they are truly a wonderful sound. i cannot recommend these highly enough!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Many thanks for your comments.

[@KennyWalters1]

Wow !! can't wait to play with that !!!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

See you in 3 weeks, Kenny.

[@kennethadamsjr.5551]

Thanks Ken, great information as always.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks for watching, Kenneth.

[@stevel6943]

Fabulous video Ken. I am thinking about getting a baritone now instead of a Cuatro! (I may get both but don't tell the Mrs). Keep up the informative video's, they are much appreciated. 👍

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks very much for the comments. Great idea to get a baritone; they are so versatile.

[@scorsby]

Thank you, very interesting, I have a set of your strings high d on my Baritone, I really like them they have a nice tone and ring. Now you've got me thinking again after the piece you played out with 😉.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

I will probably always stick to high D baritone tuning, but I may also use this cuatro tuning too.

[@MrPaulculkin]

Very interesting Ken. Thanks.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Many thanks, Paul.

[@jimhanksmusic]

I like cuatro tuning and have a tenor-scale instrument dedicated to Eb cuatro (Bb3 Eb4 G4 C4) using a "competitor's" string set. Sounds like your set would work there as well. Good to have another option on the market.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

On a tenor my set would work well in Eb tuning too.

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

I like the sound of the Baritone as a Cuatro ,do u think that if i get a Baritone and leave her tuned to ADF#B for ever ,would it damage the axe ? I can get a tenor but i like the bigger body and sound

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Maybe use C tuning rather than D. Less stress on the neck.

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Not a bad idea , i'll try it out

[@andrehidalgoa1780]

3 years ago and I’m discovering this now :,( !! (homesick Venezuelan abroad)

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@thirtyyearoldmulberryfield]

Wonderful video. Recently developed an obsession for regional south american instruments but hard to find some reliable ones online, so I was thinking of converting a couple of ukuleles to simulate some of these instruments.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

My advice is to tune baritones to GCEa and tenors to ADF#b.

[@Junch_-eb8tx]

hi im venezuelan, and im new in your channel

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Hello.

[@pastore0506]

Interesting video; thanks!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thank you.

[@positivecovers2168]

Hola , soy venezolano , e adquirido un cuatro pero quiero afinarlo como Ukulele pero el problema es que no se como , me gustaria saber si me podrias explicar , gracias .

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Compre cuerdas de ukelele barítono y sintonícelo DGBE.

[@Baba-bc9kv]

Hi I’m Venezuelan this is the cuatro venezolano,you should learn the strum joropo if your going to play cuatro I’ve been playing cuatro for 17 years and once you get the Strum joropo it will be really fun, after you get that strum learn the song Zumba que zumba

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks. I will look into it.

[@salaopen-official]

The tunning is for obtain a adaptative sound, diferent from standard uke baritone, no for play venezuelan music. For venezuelan joropo, gaita or calypso must use a real cuatro then.

[@TonyLawlorBWM]

That`s lovely. Do the chord shapes remain the same?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Same as a tenor.

[@axelbruce1926]

Hello, can you use cuatro strings on the baritone ukulele?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes, I do custom sets for tenor and baritone. Order by email.

[@axelbruce1926]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Thank you, can I have the email so I can order in the future? My name is Bruce from Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹. I don't have a ukulele as yet but I'd like to try what you did, it sounds great. I play the cuatro here for Parang music.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

@@axelbruce1926Go to www.livingwaterstrings.com

[@salaopen-official]

Very interesting, A D F# B ...

[@edilyjulievazquezdiaz3552]

Thanks for the transcript of the notes, because it was not clear for me the F#.

[@luisnardoaponte3859]

great video. what brand and model is your baritone ukelele and what strings do you use for it? it sounds great

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks. An Ohana BK-35. I use Living Water Strings, my own brand.

[@edlloyd976]

Ken, I have been a cuatro player for at least 60 years and I learned it all by ear and have never seen a chord list per say. In comparison to a baritone ukulele, are they the same? If so, where would you suggest I can get a list.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes, ukulele chord shapes and cuatro chord shapes are the same. However, they will have different names because of the tuning. If you tune your cuatro to GCEA then the names are exactly the same as a soprano/concert/tenor ukulele. They will sound a bit different because of the low 1st string in cuatro tuning. But if you tune your cuatro to the more traditional D6 tuning, then you will need to look for soprano D tuning ukulele chords. Just google it.

[@salaopen-official]

NOTE: before tuning a baritone uke as cuatro, you need change strings for it

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

That's what I said.

[@luismora3708]

Thank you very much for your advice..recently, I listened to Feng E playing stairway to heaven (KZbin)...I think He is playing a Venezuelan cuatro, please, could You please clarify this. Thank you.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Nope! It is a ukulele.

[@luismora3708]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Thank you..

[@Xavwar]

Hi Ken, great video. I would like to buy a Cuatro, but I can't find a in Canada, so, does a baritone Ukelele do the work?. Best regards J

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Not really. A cuatro has a very special sound of its own. So does a baritone uke. And of course it depends what style of music you play on it. What this tuning does is allow you to get closer to the sound of a cuatro, but it is different. The main thing it does is allow you to use tenor uke chord shapes, but sound loike a baritone.

[@olaguerchacon]

I had the same problem, I wanted to buy a Cuatro in Toronto but I couldn't find one. I watched this video, I tried and it works fantastically well. This video is amazing.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

@@olaguerchacon Thanks.

[@joseortegabeede8233]

This is cool, the only issue is that you won't be able to play a lot of traditional Venezuelan rhythms as you don't have the "golpeador" where you can physically mute the strings while striking the body.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks for the comments, Jose. Not trying to imitate the cuatro or the fabulous music of Venezuela. Just using the tuning, which I really like.

[@joseortegabeede8233]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele oh i didn’t mean at all an offense; just noting for those who did not know or want to emulate the technique and don’t know where to start, thanks for the video!

[@joseortegabeede8233]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele my wife is Venezuelan, that’s how I got introduced to the instrument , truth be told, I prefer Low G ukelele tuning over Cuatro tuning

[@andrewrobertson1347]

Ken, when you want to tune a string down to a lower octave do you need a different gauge string? When I tried to tune down my strings on my tenor ukulele the strings were very bouncy.

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes, indeed. The 1st string is the same sort of thickness as the low G 4th. You can't tune down any string by an octave.

[@andrewrobertson1347]

Thanks Ken - I thought that was the case. Thanks again

[@h131v]

Hi. I'm interested in this tuning for my baritone. Do you know of any beginner's books dedicated to it?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Nope! But remember that the tuning is the same as a tenor. Just play the same chord shapes if tuned GCEa.

[@h131v]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Yeah, that part's no problem. I was hoping for something to help me learn Melody playing with that odd Arrangement. I'll look around. Maybe some of the cuatro stuff has been translated to English. Thanks for the reply

[@eleanorarmour-thomas4882]

Hi Ken, I lost my cuatro and find getting a new ver hard. Could I buy a uke and tune it to a cuatro?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Yes. Watch the video. However, if you actually want a cuatro, buy a cuatro. They are easy to find.

[@bat482902]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele I am also looking for cuatro books...any leads?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

@@bat482902 Amazon.

[@cinthiatorres1022]

I'm in the same boat, actually buying a Cuatro is more difficult than I thought, at least in Canada and can be quite expensive :(

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

@@cinthiatorres1022 Tune a tenor uke like a cuatro, as in the video. It works great.

[@rauldelgado7033]

You should check out our strumming patterns

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks.

[@yvettegittens1478]

Can you teach me please🎉

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

I’m afraid I am not teaching any players at the moment.

[@DMBVlogs868]

you are very nice

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thank you.

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

Thanks for posting this !! for I have a cuatro and there hard to find in USA and way to expensive or beat up ,ha,ha and I want a 2nd cuatro so i can take a break from the original your saying I can set up a baritone to ADFB or better get a Tenor for ADFB tunning ? U recommend the Tenor is better to play and set up like a cuatro ? Thanks & I subscribed too

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

A baritone is happier in GCEA tuning. A tenor will tune up to ADF#B will no problem.

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Thanks for the reply Sir , now that I'm shopping for a tenor there all mostly made with mahogani & Cuatros seem to have better wood choices just harder to find but I'm sure i'll see a deal on a tenor ,those vintage Martin's tenors look awesome !!!!

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

Look at Ohana Tenors. Plenty of wood choices.

[@OUTDOORSWITHDOMINGO]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Thanks sir I'll will study hawaiian woods . I just saw some epic little axes from central & South America with lots of amazing woods. some go for like $800 online but when iIm in Colombia I can get one for like $50. and kiss ass at customs so they let her into America ,ha ,ha Thanks for teaching about how the tunning of the Ukulele changed , great lesson out of many in this video

[@couIdcareless]

i’m dont wanna insult anyone, and i got no clue if others play like that in caracas or maracaibo, but play like that in carora and youre getting beat up

[@andyharpist2938]

why not play the open notes for us to hear?

[@KenMiddletonUkulele]

I did. Several times.

[@andyharpist2938]

@@KenMiddletonUkulele Not once.

[@espr7564]

D tuning 👎 Bari sounds cool with that tuning