Korb Style Ukulele Tuning

This unique tuning, aptly named 'Korb Style Ukulele Tuning', is designed to help you explore and replicate the distinctive musical approach associated with 'Korb' on your ukulele. It offers a fresh sonic palette, moving away from standard ukulele tunings to inspire new melodic and harmonic possibilities.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to F3, A#4 (Bb4), C4, and F4 (from the 4th string to the 1st string). This configuration results in an open F suspended 4th (Fsus4) chord, featuring the notes F, Bb, and C, with the root F doubled across two octaves. The interval structure from the 4th string to the 1st string is a major ninth (F3 to A#4/Bb4), followed by a major second (A#4/Bb4 to C4), and then a perfect fourth (C4 to F4). This tuning provides an open, slightly unresolved sound, excellent for creating drone textures, folk melodies, or for adding tension before resolving. While the open tuning is Fsus4, a significant harmonic shift is easily accessible: by simply fretting the 3rd string (A#4/Bb4) down two semitones (to G#4/Ab4), you immediately transform the open chord into a rich F minor triad (F3, G#4/Ab4, C4, F4). This quick modification makes it highly versatile for switching between suspended and minor tonalities. Barre chords across these open strings will yield various suspended 4th chords, which can then be modified for minor or major sounds with minimal finger movement.

How to Tune

To achieve the 'Korb Style Ukulele Tuning', carefully adjust each string as follows:

• String 4: Tune up 3 semitones to F3.
• String 3: Tune up 3 semitones to A#4.
• String 2: Tune up 1 semitone to C4.
• String 1: Tune up 1 semitone to F4.

Please exercise caution when tuning strings up, especially if you are significantly increasing tension.

The Korb Style Ukulele Tuning is as follows:

String 4: F3
String 3: A#4
String 2: C4
String 1: F4