Are you looking to learn how to play scales on a baritone ukulele? You’re in the right place! Baritone saxophone players love to play scales. Scales are an important part of practicing and learning how to be a better player. They are also fun! But, what are they? Scales are made up of notes that go in order from the lowest note on the instrument to the highest note.
There are usually two ways you can play scales:
- Chromatically
- Diatonically
Chromatically
Chromatic involves playing every possible note in order on your instrument, while Diatonic only uses one key signature with 8 notes per octave (or double-sharp).
The most common scales to use are major, minor and blues. The chromatic scale is a combination of all the notes in order from low to high or high to low while diatonic will be either one key signature within an octave (C-D-E) or two keys per octave (A flat -B flat).
Diatonically
The diatonic scale consists of seven different notes. In this example, we have selected the key of C major as our starting point. If you are having trouble understanding what those terms mean, check out my blog post on musical keys here! Let’s look at a basic melody in that key:
C D E F G A B C
Now, let’s take that same melody and play it on your baritone ukulele. We will now change the key signature to one sharp (F major) since our new starting point is F instead of C. It may seem difficult at first to hear which notes are being played compared to when you started in a different key but after some practice, it won’t be too hard!
How Do You Play C Scale on a Baritone Ukulele?
To play C scale on a baritone ukulele, you want to hold the baritone ukulele in a way that is comfortable for your hands. You can either play it like a guitar, holding down all of the strings with your fingers on your fretting hand (the left if you are strumming and/or picking), or like an upright bass player who holds his bow horizontally across all four strings (called playing pizzicato).
If you choose to hold it like a guitar, make sure not to press too hard because this will be uncomfortable over time! To maintain even pressure across all six strings, place each finger slightly behind where they would fall if they were fretted normally. This works well for people who do not have much experience playing “upright”. If you are new to playing scales with your fingers “upright”, try practicing scales on a regular ukulele before transitioning.
If you choose to play pizzicato, place the bow so it is perpendicular to the neck of the baritone uke. Hold down all four strings at once and then slide up or down between each note in your scale. Once again, make sure not to press too hard because this will be uncomfortable over time! It may take some practice getting used to holding both hands horizontally while standing upright instead of sitting or crouching down like many other string instruments are played (e.g., violin).
ALSO READ: How to Play Iris on Ukulele – Best Tips for Beginners
How is a Baritone Ukulele Tuned?
While baritone ukuleles are tuned differently than their smaller counterparts, the tuning is not very complicated. The standard G-C-E-A pattern for soprano and tenor ukes can also be used on a baritone with an octave lower pitch because of its low range.
This is the same way a guitar tuned to standard tuning works. The strings are thicker on a baritone ukulele so it can handle the low range of notes that would sound muddy or simply not play if they were in a higher octave.
Should I Learn Scales on Ukulele?
A lot of people normally ask, “should I learn how to play scales†or even whether they would be better off learning them at all. There are many reasons why it is important for everyone who plays instruments should know some basic music theory and scales is one of the most fundamental building blocks in any musical system.
Scales help us understand more about chords, harmonies and melodies. These things can make our playing sound more interesting than just running up and down chord progressions by ear.
Playing scales also gives your fingers strength when picking out tunes that need fast finger dexterity such as rock n roll etc. If we think back to grade school math class, we all learned how to count using numbers and adding the results together. Scales are much like that, except instead of counting up in numerical order, scales go along with musical notes which act as our “numbersâ€.
- Playing ukulele is fun! – Playing music helps us relax
- Scales help you learn about chords and harmonies.
- On a baritone ukulele, scales can help you play faster!
- Playing music makes us happy and relaxed.
- Scales look complicated but are easy to learn with practice!
- Scales are important for learning how to play chords, melodies & harmonies on the bass. They also give your fingers strength when picking out tunes that need fast finger dexterity.
Conclusion
Learning how to play scales on a baritone ukulele is an essential skill to acquire. Anyone who wants to play more advanced songs and pieces should learn some music theory. Scales may seem complicated but they are easy to learn with practice!
Learning how to count using musical notes is like learning addition in math class, except you go up instead of across. Playing ukulele scales can help you improve your finger dexterity as well as teach you about chords, harmonies & melodies.
