UE #64 Stringing Up

Most suggestions I get for this column appeal to me right away. I instinctively know that I can find something to say that may prove useful or entertaining to a fair percentage of readers.  

Then there is the other kind of suggestion: the sort that makes me want to respond, “No-one will be interested in that!”

Three people have asked me to write a piece about how to put strings on a ukulele. The suggestions came after I wrote a column about the importance of having the right type of strings in order to get the best sound out of your instrument. Although 3 is more suggestions than I have ever received for an individual topic I pretty much dismissed them out of hand. I have been putting strings on my ukes for 20 years. One forgets what it is like to be a beginner. Nowadays putting strings on a ukulele is, to me anyway, such a rudimentary and common-sense skill that I couldn’t imagine anyone having much trouble with it for long. But some people apparently do.

At a recent festival I attended an excellent workshop given by luthier Gordon Mayer. Entitled: Make Your Uke Sing! Gordon spoke about the various elements that go into making our ukuleles sound bad, good or great. When he got onto the subject of strings he told the story of his 1^st guitar. When it came time to put new strings on the guitar Gordon took it back to the shop, where he’d bought it, to get the strings changed. He approached this in the same way as one might take an instrument in for repair.

I was shocked to hear this. It occurred to me that if a practical craftsman and accomplished luthier such as Gordon Mayer once felt fearful of changing his own strings perhaps this might be a suitable subject for a newsletter after all.

I think it all comes down to individual fears. The same person who has no trouble making a speech, may on the other hand, be terrified of driving a car. Someone who is unable to look after small children may have no problem at all calmly helping the victim of a heart attack.

Many fears are due to a simple lack of knowledge. Once we understand the knowledge and skills needed to do a task we can then look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.


So, if you’re ready to change your uke strings, let’s begin:

a) Gordon’s 1^st instruction in his workshop handout: Don’t be afraid!

b) Removal of old strings. Replace 1 string at a time. Removing all the strings will cause the tension in your instrument to relax. Unfortunately it will take longer for your instrument to reach a stable tension if you do this.

c) Tying the new string. Most ukuleles have what is known as a tieblock that is right behind the bridge. To tie the string securely to the tieblock the string goes:
i. Through the hole
ii. Back over the top of the tieblock.
iii. Around the string
iv. Through the loop twice (see diagram below)

 
(Less common are the ukes that have a notch in the tieblock. For those you need to tie a knot in the end of the string and simply slip the string into the notch).   

d) When you wrap the strings around the post of the tuning peg they should look like the diagram below. Notice how the strings wrap around from the inside of the post. Strings 1 and 2 wrap clockwise and strings 3 and 4 wrap counter-clockwise (btw. string #1 is closest to the floor when you hold your uke in the playing position):

First make sure there is some slack in the string. Then put the string through the post-hole 2 times if possible (this may not work for the fatter strings). This gives a good grip on the string so that when you start turning the peg the string is held firmly in place. Then continue turning the peg to tighten the string. Make sure that the string wraps 3 or 4 times around the post.

 

 

Notice how the string wraps from the top down so it ends near the bottom of the post. This is important. It makes sure that there is downward pressure on the nut to prevent buzzing.


e) Stretching the strings out may take a while. You’ll notice that the strings keep going flat. You'll probably feel like you are re-tuning for days. Eventually the strings will stay in tune.

To speed up the stretching process put 2 fingers on one side of the string about 1 inch apart. Put the thumb on the other side of the string in between the fingers. Now squeeze your thumb and fingers together as much as you can and twist sideways hard. This stretches the string quickly to get it ready to play. You may feel that you are dangerously close to breaking the string. Don’t worry; the pain of the string digging into your digits will deter any desire to continue squeezing and twisting long before there is likelihood of string breakage.

This string stretching technique is specifically given as an alternative to pulling on strings to stretch them: which Gordon does not recommend because you may tear the bridge off the uke that way.

f) The remaining ends of the strings need to be snipped, shortened or curled so that they don’t snag on clothing and otherwise become distracting.

g) Enjoy the sound and feel of your new strings.


© Ralph Shaw 2011

1 The Complete Ukulele Course gets you started with tuning and strumming. Then teaches you left and right hand techniques such as rolls, triplets, ornament notes, the Formby split stroke, waltz and jig time, playing chords up the neck and the basics of melody chording.

2 Essential Strums for the Ukulele gives you specific strums and a song to go with each one. These include: samba, blues, clawhammer, bossa nova, bo-diddley, reggae, march, waltz, syncopation, and much more. People tell me they come back to this DVD again and again.

3 Ukulele Play Along has the chord changes up on the screen and you get to strum and sing along. A fun way to practice!

4 The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids Get this dvd for the child in your life and it could change their life. Ukulele is a joyful introduction to music education.