Cuatro tuning

In these pages we will limit ourselves to the study of the cuatro tuned in the traditional way:

Repeat these notes until you become fully familiar with them.

Note that during the playback of the tuning notes D4, F#4 and B3 are displayed in more than one position on the tuning fork; knowledge of these positions will allow tuning by ear.

The tuning shown is reentrant, since the notes of the fourth to second strings follow an ascending order in frequency, but the note of the first string has a lower frequency than those of the second and third strings. The four can also be tuned in ascending order G3 C4 E4 A4 (from fourth to first), but we will not study it on these pages because the reentrant tuning is the most common and is what gives this instrument its characteristic sound. The four is an instrument related to the ukulele, which also has four strings and in which is used the standard reentrant tuning G4 C4 E4 A4, that is, the notes of the third to first strings follow an ascending order in frequency, but the note of the fourth string has a higher frequency than that of the third and second strings. Like the four, the ukulele can also be executed using the G3 C4 E4 A4 tuning. Eliminating the reentrant tuning in these instruments and using an ascending tuning offers some advantages, but it is the reentrant tuning that gives these instruments different sonorities and their own personality.

Electronic tuners, especially clip tuners, are the most comfortable way to tune stringed instruments; however it is very convenient to learn how to tune an instrument without the help of these devices. This eliminates the total dependence on them, which is extremely important because you will not always have them available, either by exhaustion of the batteries, loss or any damage. In addition, the process of tuning by ear is a very good exercise of familiarization with musical intervals.

Tuning can be done in different ways. When the ukulele is being played within a musical group it can be tuned by matching the sound of its strings to the A3, D4, F#4 and B3 notes provided by any of the other correctly tuned instruments.

The effort should be made to familiarize yourself with the sound of the A3 note corresponding to the fourth string. Once familiar with this sound, you can use the tuning procedure known as relative tuning, which is based on the fact that you can make music if you have a set of notes distanced from each other at precise intervals; in the four and other stringed instruments the dishes take care of this. This method can be applied in different sequences, below we will describe one of them:

1. The first string is tuned to the A3 (220Hz) note of a tuning fork, a keyboard, or any other instrument tuned correctly. This reference is necessary if you are going to play in a group; if what you want is to study, practice or simply enjoy the instrument, a close approximation given by your own ear is enough.
2. The fourth string on the fifth fret and the open third string are plucked alternately while the tension of the latter is adjusted until the same sound is obtained on both strings. The third string will be tuned to D4.
3. The third string in the fourth fret and the open second string are plucked alternately while the tension of the latter is adjusted until the same sound is obtained on both strings. The second string will be tuned to F#4.
4. The fourth string on the second fret and the first string are plucked alternately while adjusting the tension of the latter until the same sound is obtained on both strings. The first string will be tuned to B3.

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