UD#116 The Meridians of the Uke
from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek
A quick question:
On a ukulele with GCEA tuning, what note is
on the 5th fret of the G string?
Sometimes, students feel like they need to memorize the fretboard before they can play anything. I don’t think this is true. However, some knowledge of the notes on the fretboard is incredibly handy. So, I do try to include it in my lessons with students.
Slowly but surely!
The first thing we usually learn are the notes of the open strings: GCEA. Ralph Shaw uses the mnemonic device, “Good Cats Eat Ants,” to help people with remembering these notes. I have yet to encounter a better one. Do you know one?
Once students know the notes of the open strings, they can find the rest of the notes nearby, if they understand a few simple rules:
The space between E and F is ONE FRET.
The space between B and C is ONE FRET.
All the other notes have a two fret space.
So, in a pretty short time, students can get a handle on the notes of the first 4 frets of the ukulele, also known as “open position.”
Things can get a little blurry up the neck!
To get a start on the notes farther up the neck, I like to use something I call “Meridians.” These are the notes across the 5th, 7th and 12th frets. Once we are familiar with the “Meridian” notes, we can use them to identify nearby notes in the same way we used the open notes.
The notes across the fifth fret (in green above) are CFAD. I have yet to think of a great mnemonic device for these. I usually make one up on the spot with my student. “Cheerful Friends Always Dance” is a recent one.Not bad? Let me know if you come up with a better one!
The notes across the seventh fret (in orange above) are DGBE. These are actually the same notes as the usual open and 12th fret notes of a baritone ukulele! Also, the top four strings of a guitar. Dogs Get Bones Easily? Hmmmmmmmmm. Maybe.
The 12th fret notes (in pink above) are the same as the open notes. This is exciting news for some students!
Here are some blank fretboard charts, in case you want to practice writing in the notes.
Also, here is a fretboard chart that includes sharps and flats, something I didn’t cover today.
>GET FRETBOARD CHART WITH SHARPS AND FLATS<
And, by the way, the note on the 5th fret of the G string is…. a C note!
That’s all for this time!
I hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter.
Best,
Guido