@Keithava There is no time limit for the course, it's your forever and you can work at your own speed and rewatch, even download the videos if you like. The Guitarlele and the ukulele are in the same tuning so you don't have to do anything different and the same chords will work on both. The guitarlele and the guitar are tuned differently, the guitarlele is a 4th higher than the guitar. So a C chord on the guitar becomes an F chord on the guitarlele.
@@Ukelikethepros Just saw your reply to David's comment that a guitarele is a "guitar with a permanent fifth fret capo." I disagree with David's overly simplistic definition. Like you said, the guitarlele's size of the body and neck do make it feel and sound different than a capoed guitar. The best comparison is my classical acoustic guitar (with nylong string) vs. my guitarlele. If I put a capo on the fifth fret of my classical guitar, it will still sound different than my guitarele. I think the guitarele needs to be looked as an instrument in its own right. It's not a guitar or a ukulele. It's it's own thing.
Can the strings be reversed for a left hand play? Or is the low string too large to fit without some cutting of the nut? In a perfect world, a factory left handed version would be nice! Great video either way!
From an organological perspective, this instrument is indeed a type of guitar: a small bodied requinto guitar. Requinto guitars are tuned a fourth higher than standard guitars. I think the term “guitarlele” is a marketing term, since most English speaking people know what a guitar and a ukulele are, but they don’t know what a requinto guitar is. Historically, most instruments were developed as a family based on the SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) ranges of the human voice. The guitar is no different. In addition to the standard/prime guitar, there are also requinto, alto, and bass guitars, each covering a different tonal range. Like orchestral strings, these can be assembled into a guitar orchestra. I personally picked up a Yamaha GL-1 recently, and find it delightful. I don’t bother to transcribe the music I play on it, but since I play alone, I treat it simply as a standard guitar that sounds a fourth higher using standard guitar fingerings. I play classical guitar and ukulele, and this little requinto combines the best of both worlds in a very portable package.
Tim, you make some good points and I do agree that many people in general, English speaking or not aren't familiar with requinto. Yes, the tuning is typically the same with a requinto and a guitarlele or guitalele, but the biggest differences is that the body and scale length are much bigger than the guitarlele. My KoAloha guitarlele has the same body size as their tenor ukuleles. I also own a Yamaha GL1 and a Flight GUT 350 guitarlele and although the bodies are a little longer than the KoAloha they are roughly the size of the tenor ukulele (although the Yamaha website says the GL1 to have the body size of a baritone ukulele, which I don't agree with. I have a Kanilea baritone and it's body is bigger than the GL1. The other thing is the scale length (from the nut to the bridge). My KoAloha guitarlele, along with the GL1 and Flight are 17", which is what many tenor ukuleles are. My research on the requinto (as I do not own one) says it's roughly 21 inches. These 4 inches does make a difference in the feel and most likely the sound of the instrument. Is it just semantics? Maybe or maybe not. The piccolo is essentially a mini flute yet nobody calls them mini flutes.
Scale length and body size also vary among guitars. A classical guitar has a scale length of 25.6” while a travel guitar may have a scale length of 21”, a difference of 4.6”, yet they are both called (standard) guitars. Requintos have a scale length around 21”, but it can vary. I think the salient common feature between a requinto and “guitarlele” is six strings tuned like a requinto and not like a standard, terz, or alto guitar. Guitars have varied greatly in body size, scale length, and number of strings over the centuries. Just compare a Baroque guitar with its five doubled courses to a modern dreadnought. My thought is that if a modern musical instrument design has a historical precedent, the name of that precedent should be used. This keeps language more precise and reduces clutter.
@@timlinnabary8296 I can understand what you are saying here, it's a good point. Looking at the definition "The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument." Since you are saying that a guitarlele is just a requinto, I guess a question is why do we need to use the term, requinto, if it's just a small guitar that is tuned differently? When someone plays guitar in a alternate tuning we don't call it a different instrument. I don't really think it's right or wrong the way we call these instruments different names but it's an interesting debate.
Uke Like The Pros Yes, it is a very interesting subject! And the nomenclature of various instruments gets very confusing and convoluted the farther back in history you go since a lot of the terminology was never standardized until modern times. I think we can agree that whatever we call it, it’s a versatile, fun little instrument to play!
What's funny about that is that I was today years old when I came across this yt channel and when I first saw mr Carter I immediately thought he look like that one guy who is a host in one of the MTV shows. The show is called Catfish.
I actually really love this concept/hybrid instrument! I played guitar a bit in my twenties, but did not like the bulkiness, or the hard strings, so I gave up....fast forward a few _decades_ ...I'm now 56 and yesterday morning, seemingly on a whim, I picked up a simple soprano beginner's Ukulele. I say 'seemingly' because I have actually thought about picking up the Ukulele for quite a number of years and so, I finally stopped thinking about it and just did it. Now, I have no illusions about quickly "mastering" the Ukulele...I'm just enjoying the process one mellow happiness-inducing step at a time. Even so, I'm still very surprised at how fast I was able to start making far more than passable simple melodies, and how much gentler the strings are on my finger tips! Again, I got my first Ukulele *yesterday* I've subscribed to this channel, because the tutorials are wonderful. Thank you! _ps: I'm definitely thinking about a Guitarlele purchase down the line_
me too...a uke beginner over 50. I tried a full sized steel string guitar in my early 20s'... , for my 5'4" somewhat petite frame, it was the wrong instrument for me.
Thinking about getting a guitalele although I’ve never played a guitar or a ukulele before, I think this page may help me out a lot :) so glad I found it
This could be the answer to my prayers! I have struggled to learn the guitar - small hands and small brain! LOL. I gravitated to the baritone ukulele but it lacks the depth of sound. I am going to definitely check this instrument out now. Thank you Terry for a really educational video.
@@julesd9784 hi i know im not the one ure asking but i personally think that if u went from playing the guitar and is more familiar with guitar chords than ukulele chords, it’s much better to buy guitarlele in starting but if you are coming from ukulele and wants to start playing the guitar but isnt ready for a standard size one, i think it’s better to start familiarising yourself with the baritone ukulele. hope this helped!
I started on a guitalele (as a smaller kid) and upgraded to a full sized classical guitar a few years after that. Gotta say, the guitalele probably held me in for long enough to the point that i enjoy playing music in general now
I bought a Yamaha gl1 because I wanted a travel guitar and here in Brazil we do not have a lot of those availible. I tried every trick around the internet to tune it like a regular guitar (E-B-G-D-A-E) - but sounded horrible. Then I realized how great was the original tuning in A - and now I play the guitalele a lot. Lots of fun.
Thank you for sharing this info, I have others that ask to tune it like a guitar. I would imagine the guitar tuning is too low and caused the strings to be too loose. It really is a great and fun instrument to play.
Rick_Santana I bought one 2 years ago and thought it was junk cause I tuned it like a standard guitar. I almost threw it away. I can’t wait to get home and tune it properly.
@@wileyearly4831 The same here. I'm a guitar player and songwriter and was stuck in the standard tuning mentality. The guitalele helped me to keep fresh and I've already written a song for it. Challenge yourself to do the same.
To anyone that's thinking about getting a Guitalele, for whatever reason, I love mine. First off, you don't have to break the bank to afford one. I have a Yamaha GL1 Guitalele, in Persimmon Brown; they're available on Amazon and from music stores like Sam Ash & Guitar Center for $100. You can pay between $100 & $200 depending upon wood type and finish, but you don't need too. From what I've seen, the GL 1 is probably the most common of these instruments and it plays and sounds just great. I own and play a Kala KA-CE (and just got a KA-8E) and the GL 1 - or any Guitalele - does what the video says. It rounds out that sound and makes it thicker, adds low end, and makes it easier to play different types of music that are simply much more difficult on a Ukulele.
Yes, perfectly said. The Yamaha is probably the most common, it may be the one that's been around the longest. Kala and Flight make nice ones as well at a great price point. At some point soon I will be comparing many of the different types of guitarleles. I find them extremely fun to play and love that I can do all my jazz chords on them.
guitarbrad Omg! Great Souls think alike, I just picked up the exact same guitarlele you have a Yamaha GL-1 in Persimmon Brown! In Canada it goes for 129.00 plus tax but it's still cheaper than a lot of ukes plus you get that rich full sound from the lower G and the A and D. I'm actually just finding beautiful chords just messing around on it! I'm so excited because it's actually my very first day playing a guitarlele!
@@rjp63vip That is great, so glad to hear. The Yamaha is a great instrument and one of the first guitaleles on the market. It's such a fun instrument, it's what I take when I walk my kids and usually get a few hours of practice in while they run around the park.
I have a Yamaha version and I appreciate that it is like starting on the 5th fret of a guitar. There is relatively easy access to high notes used in solos that otherwise might be hard with a traditional guitar that is not cutaway.
Thank you! This is very informative - I just started playing ukulele and I love it. For me it's a perfect instrument - perfect size and form. So it's great to hear that there's even a little guitar in the same shape and size - with all the possibilities to expand into new areas in the future! Great channel, like your other videos too!
Thank you for the comment and welcome to the ukulele, it's a great instrument. The guitarlele is also a great instrument and like you said just an expansion of the ukulele.
I bought a Guitarlele and I do not have any regrets (Yamaha G1). I am originally a guitar player, but I had to move and couldn't take my guitars with me, so the guitarlele came into my like. I can play almost everything that I used to play, even shredding.
Nice, I think it's a great instrument. I do find the frets get closer together than a guitar as you move up the neck which makes playing some chords more difficult but that's about it.
Been playing Ukelele for 5 yrs years , wanted to try guitarlele first time saw it. Purchased a Sound Smith, Love it . Not alot of tutorials,Thank you for the easy to follow lessons.
As a guitarist I use it to texture parts and as my travel companion. I’ve gotten a really cool sound recording my guitalele with a light overdrive. I think its main advantage IS the size. I’ve come up with a lot of interesting chord voicings. Even when capo’ing a guitar, you still see the neck as a capo’s guitar.
Just order my first Guitarlele yesterday after 4-month on learning Guitar. The travel size and the low A,D string amaze me! Thanks for the video, Now I get excited to go on my "guitar" learning journey on a Guitarlele!
I purchased an Ibanez Ewp14opn Piccolo guitar/ guitarele a little over a year ago. I've been a gigging jazz vocalist for years so I've always had great players around; never gone past dabbling with guitar, in spite of my husband being an instructor. This little thing got me playing! It's so much fun to strum and sing with! Then I realized the high four strings were the same as the ukulele so I started playing ukulele chords on those strings. Got a Breedlove concert uke coming in tomorrow and I'm also getting the Luna 8-string tenor ukulele. Without knowing any of this my daughter got a soprano uke from a friend when the FB buyer didn't show up! Haha, simultaneously I'm playing bass and saving for an upright! Back to piano to make reading music and music theory more accessible. Exciting!!
This reminds me of when the 7 string electric guitar was invented in the 80's and then the 8 string in the early 2000's. Extended range instruments really open up some cool possibilities.
Been playing ukulele for a while (not very well), and just got a Yamaha GL1 Guitalele. Super excited to learn it but finding it a little hard at the moment as I'm not used to the extra strings. Super cool instrument though. Thanks Terry for making these videos, there's not much else around to help learn this instrument.
So, I just got a Donner Guitarlele for Christmas. I started on a soprano Moukey Ukelele last Christmas and have loved it. I always wanted to play guitar but my hands seemed too small to reach many of the chords. Excited to get started! Love the sound and the added richness of the lower 5th and 6th strings!
I just bought the Yamaha GL1 Guitalele and love it already! Love the size, the sound, how nice the action is and love that it's so versatile. I learned to play my first string instrument which was a banjo ukelele. At the time I was the rhythm section to my Dad's lead mandolin. I hated that bango ukelele!! It was made of stainless steel, it was heavy for a child to play and to me always sounded tinny and too loud, plus my Dad's choice of music to play was light years from what I was interested in playing. I wanted to play guitar. When i was sixteen i finally had the opportunity to purchase my first guitar, a Yamaha. i have no idea what model it was but it would''ve been 1979 so maybe you can guess. All I know is i walked into a local music shop, told them i wanted to learn guitar and the guy handed me this Yamaha. Well, I hated that guitar!! It was too big (a dreadnought), the action was too high which made effective chording almost impossible for me, and too loud in my opinion. Consequently the guitar lessons didn't go too well and ended up with me paying to hear my teacher show off what he knew and could play on his guitar. So endeth the first attempt at learning guitar. Many, MANY years later when I hit my late forties I realised that i really did want to learn how to play a guitar reasonably well and set out to accomplish this goal. I bought a mint used Seagull Artist Mosaic accoustic guitar for $500 from a guy who didn't realise what it was worth and signed up for more lessons. I loved that guitar!! Nice easy action, great sound, perfect size for me. I ended up with a great teacher but sucumbed to a long episode of dealing with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome after I'd only had maybe two lessons. I underwent the surgery, a huge success but by that time was needing to make some money and sold my guitar to a guy who knew what it was worth, much to my economic advantage! So endeth the second attempt at learning guitar. Now we're about five or six years later and again, as winter comes on I get the itch again, you know the one. I decide to start at the beginning where I would start a child. I purchase a ukelele and fool around on that for awhile.Then I ask for and receive a lovely little Seagull Merlin for Christmas 2017. Lot's of fun to fool around on and pick out melodies but the set up is more like a dobro and I have no idea how to attack chording on this thing, despite all the online stuff. And, it's just not a guitar. What I REALLY want to learn is the guitar so I can cross it off my list of "To Do's" in my lifetime. Hence the purchase of the GL1. I'm really, REALLY hoping this will be a good place to start yet again and then transition to a guitar when I start to feel the BIG itch! So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! I'm hoping that by watching some of your videos I'll learn some things and start to feel more confident and ready to take on a full size guitar again. I think though that this time I'll hang onto this sweet little thing and have it as a travel instrument! Cheers! Lynda Armstrong
Lynda, thanks for sharing you great journey of music and the guitar which has now lead us to the guitarlele and this video. I as well love the guitarlele, it's my go to instrument especially when I go out to the park and play. Although the tuning is different than the guitar all the chords and songs you learn on the guitarlele will transfer over to the guitar. Yamaha is a great company, I do know the late 70's models you speak of but don't really know the model names. I have several nylon string Yamahas from the 70's. I really like what Yamaha is doing with acoustic steel string guitars, for $150-$300 you can get a really nice acoustic guitar. I recently bought a GL1 to do a comparison video vs. my KoAloha and the Flight GUT 350. I like the sound and shape of the GL1, for $99 it is a great instrument. My KoAloha has a little wider of a neck which is good for my fingers and the neck it slimmer than the GL1. But we are also talking about a $750 KoAloha vs. the $99 GL1. I have some Guitarlele videos here on UA-cam and will be posting more. Also, when your ready I just released a Guitarele Course at www.ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course Enjoy the lessons and stick with it.
I play classical music in a guitar trio FORCOLA. We use 2 guitarlels and ukuleles and combine these instruments with classical guitars. I use guitarlele mostly for solo parts in the works of Bach, Mozart and other composers. Guitalele beautifully sounds in a band with classical guitars thanks to the interesting timbre of sound. It also allows you to use the first position in high solo parts. This has a beneficial effect on the timbre and technique. Guitalele has a wider scale compared to ukulele. Thanks to this, it can be used without limitations related to ukulele which has only 4 strings. I recommend checking the length of your guitalele strings and choosing the right tune and strings thickness. On my YAMAHA guitalele, I raised tune to H to get the right string tension. This made it possible to get a more clear and powerful sound.
I just ordered the yam. Iv owned a few Ukes been a bassist for 21 years. I play double bass and a lot of acoustic guitar in my punk band and sing. This thing is something I am really pumped about. A fellow bassist friend of mine owns own and loves it. Can’t wait.
just ordered up a baritone uke.. electrics and occasional acoustic guitars have been what i mostly played. I appreciate the tuning which carries over the same scales that Iam finally learning how to use and the easier finger placeing will be a win-win for me... Of course this 6 string uke has possibilities.
I ve got one. I bought it by mistake. I actually wanted to buy a mini guitar but hey... LOL... I tuned it like a guitar first like E A D G B E ... it sounded sloppy and I wasn't happy. but when I tuned it like UKULELE I was surprised with it.... Now I play it all the time and I love it and I have it as my additional next to my Ukues... My problem was I couldn't find lots of lessons videos on the Guitalele, thanks
Haha, a perfect mistake. That are great and play mine all the time as well. I have a lot of Guitarlele lessons in youtube and also a course up at ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course
I bought a Luna Guitalele about a year ago. I struggled with it for a long time and then since I used to play the guitar just tuned it as a guitar. I like playing it like a guitar but your video is making me think of trying again to try to tune and play it like a ukulele. Thanks!
I thought about the guitalele for the reasons you mentioned: the cumbersome nature of the guitar, and was looking for a small-body guitar and landed on its 4-string descendant of a Portuguese branch of the guitar family tree. I"m happy with my choice of tenor-sized ukulele.
I had my instrument for almost 2 years before I found out online how to tune it properly so I could enjoy playing it, and that was on the year 2014 when I bought it, thank you for your video, I could use that information.
Bought a Yamaha a few years ago and just picked it up again to play. Thank you for your videos, they were perfect to get me going. I’ve studied Suzuki violin and played some worship guitar so very excited to learn this instrument!
I just got an Ibanez EWP13 - I love the sound and I can’t wait to familiarise myself with it! Thanks for the useful videos, I’ll be checking out the full course, of course...
I have some electric 19 inch scale guitars with steel strings. Some people tune them to A, but if you use heavy strings (.013) you can standard tune with low E. I can play my nylon string soprano uke but can't get a good sound if I try to play the 4 high strings of a small guitar. Makes a great travel guitar.
Yes, someone else just mentioned to use heavy strings on a guitalele if you are going to use guitar tuning. Soprano ukuleles are tough because they don't have much low end or warmth, but yes great to travel with.
Funny. This evening I was actually working on mine. I don't care much for the size, but for the harmonic colour. So, it is a full scale cheap travel guitar fitted with the normal first strings (E-B-G), but with the 3 big ones (D-A-E) tuned one octava higher using swaped string gauges. With it's limited size body and table (sustain killer) and a 5th fret capo, the illusion is quite good.
I have a Spanish vihuela in A and I'm considering buying a guitalele as well. There's so much amazing music written for vihuela, 6 course lute, and viola da gamba that is quite playable on this instrument
the ukulele is not limited at all,start learning campanella techniques with a high G string and you can play stuff just not possible on any other instrument,this is just like a mini guitar that the uke exactly isn't :) just my two cents,the ukulele is not a toy guitar,this is...
The ukulele _is_ limited in its range. I think that's all he's saying here. I agree that the high G on a uke offers some great possibilities that aren't available on the guitar, large _or_ small, but that doesn't illegitimize this instrument. Still, the term "guitarlele" is an unfortunately ignorant name for it.
The chart was really helpful, thank you so much, my parents always ask me to learn these weird wacky instruments they find and buy, and I had given up guitalele, but this really helped.
Hi. I just got a Yamaha Guitarlele GL1 and I am an absolute beginner. I have never played any instrument before! Hoping to learn more about guitarlele from you!
I've been playing a soprano uke for about 2 years and I love it. I'm going to get a guitalele next month and start learning that. I won't stop playing the uke though. I really like the deeper sound on the guitalele more guitar like as you mentioned. I tried a low G string on the uke but I didn't like it so I took it off. it just didn't sound right to my ear. Thank you for the guitalele chord chart. That's really going to help when I bring the guitalele home. So far I like the Yamaha guitalele
That is so cool. Sopranos are fun to play. The low G I think sounds better on a tenor or even a concert ukulele. It's good to have both a high G and a low G ukulele so you can play a wider variety of material. Once you get a guitarlele, check out the other guitarlele videos I have here on UA-cam as well as my guitarlele course bit.ly/2R0R4JS
I'm a multi-instrumentalist, mostly guitar, bass, mandolin, violin, viola, and ukulele. I've probably paid less attention to the uke than to any of the others, but in a recent fit of curiosity I also rolled the dice on a Cordoba Mini M. It's essentially a guitarlele, but with spruce top and mahogany laminate back and sides. And okay, I'm hooked. These things are roughly the size of tenor ukes, but closer to the guitar's versatility. I'll be literally downsizing over the next couple of years in terms of both quantity and size, and I think a good quality guitarlele will wind up featuring prominently in my pared-down instrument lineup. I'm thinking about one of the bass ukes too, as it'll definitely take up less space than a standard Fender P-bass. In short, you have my attention. :)
I love my ukulele but do find it a bit limiting sometimes on songs I learned years ago on the guitar. But I work it out on the ukulele. I do have a guitarlele by Ortega. I really like it a lot but don't play it as much but I am doing more with it now. I do not play my guitar much as it has become cumbersome and harder to finger the chords like I could when I was younger. So when I saw the guitarlele I wanted one. To me it is a cross between and guitar and ukulele . Haveing the 2 extra strings makes it cool for some tunes. Thanks for the video !
Great comment, thank you for sharing. Guitar players don't believe me when I mention things that you talk about here. I have a good amount of guitalele content here on youtube and also a great guitarlele course on my site, ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course
i got myself a Ortega RGLE18FMH last november, and i lover her, she is beatiful and she became my favourite guitar... to play. my 4/4 classical guitar hangs at the wall for 5 months now and if i sometimes take her she feels so big and unhandy now
I love my guitalele. I have a Kala. I’ve only played an ukulele, but I love the deeper tones of the guitalele. Thanks for putting tutorials out there. Much appreciated!
Have recently purchased the Yahama guitalele. I don’t fit around a more standard sized guitar, but wanted more than just four strings on a uke. Absolute beginner, so some interesting times ahead!
Just got the Yamaha one. I mainly play guitar but wanted something to write melodies on the couch or to take for travel and camping. I really want an 8 string Cuatro but don’t want to spend a lot of money so this will have to do. Fun little instrument.
Your right, the wider neck makes it a bit tricker to go from 4 string ukulele to guitarlele. Although I think the tenor sized body and neck lenght of the guitalele would make it easier for a beginner to learn than even a small sized guitar. What do you think?
To everyone saying that this sounds like a small guitar and feel like there’s nothing unique about the guitarlele, Uke Like the Pros did another video comparing the Requinto guitar and the guitarlele in a sound comparison if you want to hear what makes the guitalele different / unique.
Ukulele is basically the first 4 strings barred at the 5th fret up and the low string being an octave higher, so this is basically a guitar with a capo at the 5th fret and use the CAGED theory or regular open chords, it's easier to figure out if you have a real good concept of guitar chords.
Yes you could think of it that way and it that works for you than awesome. I find it easier just to learn the new chord names and scales cause if not my mind tends to jump back and forth between guitar and guitalele tuning.
i was really having hard time deciding what to buy because my budget is limited. I thought ukulele would be best because its not pricey like guitar but it feels like ukulele is not the sound that i wanted. but after watching this im convinced, i need guitalele. A good way to start
I went to Brazil with my ukulele but had to leave it there so I could bring my partner's newly made guitar. Now we just moved into a new place and I was looking into buying a ukulele (preferably) or a guitar, but I entered a music shop and saw the Yamaha guitarlele and ended up buying, after all, why not? The guy said I could return it the next day in case I didn't want it. So now I'm looking for videos to learn more about it and see if I will continue with this or return it to get a ukulele. This video was very clarifying, I'm most likely keeping in now! Thank you very much! The only thing that I'm uncertain about is that I'm not used to using a low G so will have to see how adapting will turn out (I'm not a great player of anything, but sure can learn:) ).
I only JUST learned that a guitarlele is a thing. I'm intrigued by the idea, as I have started to think I might like to learn to play the guitar. I have been to the Koaloha factory/store and, now that I think about it, they may have mentioned the guitarlele, but it didn't stick in my memory. I would LOVE a Koaloha instrument, wink wink. But for now, there is a local music store that has them or would be able to get them.
I got one from my local friendly music shop kind of as a joke. It was like 90 bucks, its a cheap yamaha. I totally love it haha. Its really fun to play.
The body size and neck length is definiety good for kids, the biggest challenge will be the width of the neck, it's similar to a classical guitar but the neck is thinner, so a bit easier to play.
As a bassist, the guitalele is perfect because I get a ukelele plus the low end that calls to me. Also I see it as the equivalent to a 5string bass for ukelele
The lower 4 strings of the uke is the same with the lower 4 strings of the guitar in terms of chord formation, the only difference between them is the key. Like in the video, the "C" key in the Uke is the "G" chord of the guitar.
Yes you are correct in your understanding. Although you say the word "lower 4 strings" and although I believe you are referring to the 4 strings closest to the floor, we would really call those the higher strings or strings 1-4.
I’ve had a guitarlele for about 7 yrs..it’s a kanilea..sounds great in the right tuning..but if you’re a singer songs would be a little high as a male..so I now tune my guitarlele..Bb to Bb..now I can sing and do most of my guitar songs..been using it on tour all these yrs and people are like what is that an ukulele?..little guitar?..they seem to like the sound
Great point and it's cool that you tune Bb to Bb. Doesn't that raise the pitch even higher than the standard A tuning? People always do a double take when I have it, cause they think it's an ukulele and get curious about the 6 strings.
I somehow accidentally found out about Guitalele today, and then found my way here to your video. I’m intrigued by this instrument. I’ve mostly avoided ukulele because I tend to like instruments that have some low end also. I play guitar and bass. This instrument is really interesting though. I’ll check out your other videos about it.
The guitalele is great for the added low end, one of the reasons why I like it as well. Here is my playlist of guitarlele videos, with more on the way. ua-cam.com/play/PLB4hT1OuHQ2e3ooowKUBh8gjpLpCttnLn.html
Your two statements out of the box described me to a tee. Yes , uke limited, full size acoustic not comfortable. You have got me interested. I will be checking your site. Thanks.
Looks like a cool little instrument. I have a Baritone uke but i did look at yamaha's guitarlet at one point. I like the baritone because the shapes are like a guitar and i am still learning.
Baritones are very cool. The baritone actually has a bigger body and a longer neck than the guitalele. I have a baritone as well and it's just a cool sounding instrument.
I bought a guitarlele from Luna which came tuned as a guitar E to E. It sounds more like a guitar. I was having trouble with the size of a regular guitar.
I had a 5 string ukulele built, that fits into a roll-aboard. The 6th string just needs more length to sound good, so I have 5 string guitar that's closer in length to a ukulele... easy to bring along, easy to play as a guitar...
The GL-1 is great, I have a comparison video with the GL-1, my KoAloha and the Flight GUT-350. I wrote a complete course for guitalele at www.ukelikethepros.com/p/guitarlele-course
Just learning ukulele and often get restricted by the things that can be done on a uke, this is a blessing. Could take hotel California to whole new level with this thing.😂😂😂
I have Yamaha GL1 - it's has great sound with hard tension strings (you can even tune it to original guitar sound), but playing on it for a while I can say that big guitar sounds much better but due to size it still really good for traveling!
Hey! I'm glad to hear it's been going well so far! I'm also thinking of purchasing the Yamaha GL1! So because the strings are high tension can I learn 'regular guitar' chords with it? Since I want to learn guitar without the commitment of learning an entirely new instrument and having the ukulele chords to fall back on to. Would you recommend it to me?
I like the idea. It's better then lugging around a full size guitar. Anyway, I've got long fingers, and hand, while the wide fret board would likely work well for me (more comfortable). In any case, the top two strings could be removed if someone just wants to play it as a uke.
Thanks for the explanation. I had thought a guitarlele was just a small guitar. I prefer the baritone scale over my tenor so this makes me think of the possibilities of accessing the lower range of those bottom two strings. It’s something I will need to look into further. I look forward to your upcoming videos.
Yes I agree, I like the longer neck of the baritone as well. I think the guitarlele is nice because although the neck is wider than a tenor ukulele it has the same exact length. I think if the body and neck of the gutiarlele started to get bigger than you are getting into mini guitar more. Will be sharing more videos this week.
@@laertesdd I replied to your other comment, but I'll do a video and I'll play a guitarlele and play a guitar at the 5th fret. I think the sound is completely different even though the tunings are the same.
Uke Like The Pros That was my point - and only that: both ukulele and guitar have the same relative tuning (meaning the intervals between the strings), only the low g-ukule is tuned five semitones (or a fourth) higher than the guitar in standard tuning. The timbre is, as you say, of course very different. I am looking forward to seeing your vid in which you compare a capo-ed guitar with the guitarlele! 😊
Hi there! Can you PLEASE tell me... for the guitalele course, is it for brand new beginners who have NOT played the uke or guitar?? I am brand new to the guitalele and enjoyed your videos, playing along the best of my ability. I keep going to your checkout/complete my purchase for this course but am afraid it will be too hard! I have never played guitar or uke. THANKS and I hope to hear back from you with hopefully good news so I can purchase your course!!! CHEERS and much thanks!
I was looking at getting one 230.00 Canadain all in. For my birthday. He has on sale. I am still learning. But I liked it was pretty. BCG18 cross over guitar/ukulele. Was thinking of putting on a deposit. But still a lot of $ for me right now. I really want a concert ukulele with a pick up and built in tuner. It’s not high or low and it’s show room model I think it’s a good deal. The whole sale was 325.00 . What do you think ?
Hey! I just bought a Guitalele! I think it doesn't have specified name. It's called Guitlele or guitalele or even guitarlele! It would be awesome if you could make a video on scales and chords though!
That is great, what one did you get? Yes you are correct I see guitele, guitalele, and guitarlele as well. I pronounce it guitarlele, it's just easier for me to say. Great point on the lessons, please continue to follow the videos I'll be posting this week as I will begin to answer those concerns.
I like my Cordoba guitalele, but it can’t hold a candle to my Kremona Sophia classical. But I’m very attached to my Kremoba, and after a 2nd mishap by airport personnel, I got the guitalele so that if it got lost it wouldn’t break my heart. I use a nylon stringed instrument because I play in 8 different tunings and nylon tolerates that. 2 or 3 changes on the steel the strings would break at the machines. I wish more people used the guitalele. Oh, and fits well in the plane overhead.
Right on, 2 great instruments. As a bass player I think you would enjoy having the 2 extra strings of the guitarlele. It's the same tuning as a ukulele and then adds a low D and A string. The main reason I like the guitarlele compared to the ukulele is that the 2 extra strings allow me to play fuller chord shapes, lower arpeggios, and even walking bass lines.
Uke Like The Pros Oh that sounds pretty cool but how about in the long run how can it help me within music and what makes it stand out compared to either a guitar or a ukulele?
@@anthony4513 Playing multiple string instruments I believe will help you overall as a musician. Stretching your knowledge of tunings and techniques on different instruments will keep your brain active and may even inspire you to write new material as you hear the different timbres. Essentially as mentioned the guitarlele is a 6 string ukulele. It has the same body and scale length (at least my KoAloha guitarlele) as a tenor ukulele. Compared to a guitar the body is smaller, the neck is shorter and the tuning is a 4th higher than the guitar.
I play the guitar, both acoustic and classical. I also play ukulele and Banjolele. I'm thinking about a guitarlele. Two questions. 1. Do you recommend a make, not too expensive? 2. You you get an electro?
Awesome, you'll love the guitarlele. I recommend the KoAloha Guitarlele and the Romero Creations Guitele but they are around $800. There are not a lot of options but the Lanikai Guitarlele is cool about $400 and it's a baritone size so it's bigger than most. Then the standard which is actually not bad for the price is the Yamaha GL-1 which is about $99 on Amazon.
I understand what you are saying and this has probably been most popular comment. I agree the tuning of the guitarlele is the same as a guitar capo 5, but honestly the sound and the feel of playing a guitarlele is completely different. I love guitar, I've made a living as a guitar player for the last 20 years, but the guitarlele is different. I would suggest going and playing one and seeing for yourself, you might be surprised.
I did play a Kala branded guitarlele and it was a pretty pleasant experience. Granted it didn't have as deep of a sound and bass as your standard or travel classical guitar, but it's a unique sound nonetheless. Should've taken the 20% Christmas discount last year and bought one, regretti spaghetti. I play both the ukulele and the guitar and this is a good in between. My only gripe is the price of these and the Kala.
Your exactly right, it really has more of a ukulele sound rather than a standard or travel classical guitar, But I find it much easier to travel with. I still have to try the Kala guitalele.
@@Ukelikethepros You don't need to confuse people by naming it "different". It still goes by basic CAGED concept and actually learning and applying similarities makes it easy to play Different = hard. Similar = easy to understand
Hey Terry, thanks for this awesome video!😊 I‘ll get a guitarlele for my birthday at the end of november so I‘m really looking forward to your upcoming videos! Greetings from Germany✌🏻😉
I have a complete step-by-step video guitarlele course at ukelikethepros.com/p/guitarlele-course.
@Keithava There is no time limit for the course, it's your forever and you can work at your own speed and rewatch, even download the videos if you like.
The Guitarlele and the ukulele are in the same tuning so you don't have to do anything different and the same chords will work on both.
The guitarlele and the guitar are tuned differently, the guitarlele is a 4th higher than the guitar. So a C chord on the guitar becomes an F chord on the guitarlele.
Wish I could get free guitarlele or ukulele from you😢😢
Uke Like The Pros
Can you tune it the same as a guitar. Thx
I don't know to play ukulele or guitar,but i have guitalele.....😐....will the course help me to start playing ??
We have the YAMAHA guitarlele
He's 90 and 30 at the same time.
It's called having 45
It's hard work getting my hair this white.
@@Ukelikethepros lol
Leave the man alone! Having white hair is not against the law.
I loveeeeeee his hair I think it’s pretty and it suits him ❤️
A guitar with a permanent fifth fret capo.
In simplest terms you are right. I think that ukulele size of the body and neck make it feel and sound different than a capoed guitar.
Or tune your guitar any way you like, and get a permanent spider capo or whatever you want to call it.
@@toady460 would rather not capo my guitar too often. It is still to big for me at this point in my life.
@@Ukelikethepros Just saw your reply to David's comment that a guitarele is a "guitar with a permanent fifth fret capo." I disagree with David's overly simplistic definition. Like you said, the guitarlele's size of the body and neck do make it feel and sound different than a capoed guitar. The best comparison is my classical acoustic guitar (with nylong string) vs. my guitarlele. If I put a capo on the fifth fret of my classical guitar, it will still sound different than my guitarele. I think the guitarele needs to be looked as an instrument in its own right. It's not a guitar or a ukulele. It's it's own thing.
Can the strings be reversed for a left hand play? Or is the low string too large to fit without some cutting of the nut?
In a perfect world, a factory left handed version would be nice!
Great video either way!
so it is like when a classical guitar and a ukulele *made a baby*
Haha, I like that. Essentially yes, but the tuning remains like the ukulele (A - D - G - C - E - A)
Want to see a real horror? The love child of an alp horn and a double bass.
@@whynottalklikeapirat Alright I got to give it up to you that is funny. Thanks for commenting.
@@Ukelikethepros Why, thanks for posting ;)
I wanna like this comment but 99 is such beautiful number ╰(*´︶`*)
From an organological perspective, this instrument is indeed a type of guitar: a small bodied requinto guitar. Requinto guitars are tuned a fourth higher than standard guitars. I think the term “guitarlele” is a marketing term, since most English speaking people know what a guitar and a ukulele are, but they don’t know what a requinto guitar is.
Historically, most instruments were developed as a family based on the SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) ranges of the human voice. The guitar is no different. In addition to the standard/prime guitar, there are also requinto, alto, and bass guitars, each covering a different tonal range. Like orchestral strings, these can be assembled into a guitar orchestra.
I personally picked up a Yamaha GL-1 recently, and find it delightful. I don’t bother to transcribe the music I play on it, but since I play alone, I treat it simply as a standard guitar that sounds a fourth higher using standard guitar fingerings. I play classical guitar and ukulele, and this little requinto combines the best of both worlds in a very portable package.
Tim, you make some good points and I do agree that many people in general, English speaking or not aren't familiar with requinto. Yes, the tuning is typically the same with a requinto and a guitarlele or guitalele, but the biggest differences is that the body and scale length are much bigger than the guitarlele. My KoAloha guitarlele has the same body size as their tenor ukuleles. I also own a Yamaha GL1 and a Flight GUT 350 guitarlele and although the bodies are a little longer than the KoAloha they are roughly the size of the tenor ukulele (although the Yamaha website says the GL1 to have the body size of a baritone ukulele, which I don't agree with. I have a Kanilea baritone and it's body is bigger than the GL1.
The other thing is the scale length (from the nut to the bridge). My KoAloha guitarlele, along with the GL1 and Flight are 17", which is what many tenor ukuleles are. My research on the requinto (as I do not own one) says it's roughly 21 inches. These 4 inches does make a difference in the feel and most likely the sound of the instrument.
Is it just semantics? Maybe or maybe not. The piccolo is essentially a mini flute yet nobody calls them mini flutes.
Scale length and body size also vary among guitars. A classical guitar has a scale length of 25.6” while a travel guitar may have a scale length of 21”, a difference of 4.6”, yet they are both called (standard) guitars. Requintos have a scale length around 21”, but it can vary. I think the salient common feature between a requinto and “guitarlele” is six strings tuned like a requinto and not like a standard, terz, or alto guitar.
Guitars have varied greatly in body size, scale length, and number of strings over the centuries. Just compare a Baroque guitar with its five doubled courses to a modern dreadnought.
My thought is that if a modern musical instrument design has a historical precedent, the name of that precedent should be used. This keeps language more precise and reduces clutter.
@@timlinnabary8296 I can understand what you are saying here, it's a good point. Looking at the definition "The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument."
Since you are saying that a guitarlele is just a requinto, I guess a question is why do we need to use the term, requinto, if it's just a small guitar that is tuned differently?
When someone plays guitar in a alternate tuning we don't call it a different instrument.
I don't really think it's right or wrong the way we call these instruments different names but it's an interesting debate.
Uke Like The Pros Yes, it is a very interesting subject! And the nomenclature of various instruments gets very confusing and convoluted the farther back in history you go since a lot of the terminology was never standardized until modern times. I think we can agree that whatever we call it, it’s a versatile, fun little instrument to play!
@@timlinnabary8296 Yes, we can totally agree on this. It's been fun and I learned a lot through our interaction. Thank you.
In my language (Indonesian), lele means catsfish, so when I found this, I thought the guitar is made of catfish.
😂Interestingg, thank you for teaching me that about the Indonesian language.
Pacel lele
What's funny about that is that I was today years old when I came across this yt channel and when I first saw mr Carter I immediately thought he look like that one guy who is a host in one of the MTV shows. The show is called Catfish.
I actually really love this concept/hybrid instrument! I played guitar a bit in my twenties, but did not like the bulkiness, or the hard strings, so I gave up....fast forward a few _decades_ ...I'm now 56 and yesterday morning, seemingly on a whim, I picked up a simple soprano beginner's Ukulele. I say 'seemingly' because I have actually thought about picking up the Ukulele for quite a number of years and so, I finally stopped thinking about it and just did it.
Now, I have no illusions about quickly "mastering" the Ukulele...I'm just enjoying the process one mellow happiness-inducing step at a time. Even so, I'm still very surprised at how fast I was able to start making far more than passable simple melodies, and how much gentler the strings are on my finger tips! Again, I got my first Ukulele *yesterday*
I've subscribed to this channel, because the tutorials are wonderful. Thank you!
_ps: I'm definitely thinking about a Guitarlele purchase down the line_
me too...a uke beginner over 50. I tried a full sized steel string guitar in my early 20s'... , for my 5'4" somewhat petite frame, it was the wrong instrument for me.
Thinking about getting a guitalele although I’ve never played a guitar or a ukulele before, I think this page may help me out a lot :) so glad I found it
I'm in the same situation so what did you do?
This could be the answer to my prayers! I have struggled to learn the guitar - small hands and small brain! LOL. I gravitated to the baritone ukulele but it lacks the depth of sound. I am going to definitely check this instrument out now. Thank you Terry for a really educational video.
Pam Avery hello! i’m trying to decide whether to buy the guitalele or the baritone ukulele. is either one easier to play?
@@julesd9784 im having the same question!
@@julesd9784 hi i know im not the one ure asking but i personally think that if u went from playing the guitar and is more familiar with guitar chords than ukulele chords, it’s much better to buy guitarlele in starting but if you are coming from ukulele and wants to start playing the guitar but isnt ready for a standard size one, i think it’s better to start familiarising yourself with the baritone ukulele. hope this helped!
I started on a guitalele (as a smaller kid) and upgraded to a full sized classical guitar a few years after that. Gotta say, the guitalele probably held me in for long enough to the point that i enjoy playing music in general now
I bought a Yamaha gl1 because I wanted a travel guitar and here in Brazil we do not have a lot of those availible. I tried every trick around the internet to tune it like a regular guitar (E-B-G-D-A-E) - but sounded horrible. Then I realized how great was the original tuning in A - and now I play the guitalele a lot. Lots of fun.
Thank you for sharing this info, I have others that ask to tune it like a guitar. I would imagine the guitar tuning is too low and caused the strings to be too loose. It really is a great and fun instrument to play.
Rick_Santana I bought one 2 years ago and thought it was junk cause I tuned it like a standard guitar. I almost threw it away. I can’t wait to get home and tune it properly.
Thanks for this comment. The proper tuning should make the difference in sound and feel. Keep me posted on how you like it.
@@wileyearly4831 The same here. I'm a guitar player and songwriter and was stuck in the standard tuning mentality. The guitalele helped me to keep fresh and I've already written a song for it. Challenge yourself to do the same.
Isn't a regular guitar tuned E-A-D-G-B-E ?
I recently got one as my first instrument and I’m pretty excited to learn it
Please update on how u r learning...like there aren't much of guitarlele tutorials on UA-cam...i wanna buy one but am scared :(
Studies are gonna rob my kpop and kdrama life! It’s the same thing as a normal ukelele.
To anyone that's thinking about getting a Guitalele, for whatever reason, I love mine. First off, you don't have to break the bank to afford one. I have a Yamaha GL1 Guitalele, in Persimmon Brown; they're available on Amazon and from music stores like Sam Ash & Guitar Center for $100. You can pay between $100 & $200 depending upon wood type and finish, but you don't need too. From what I've seen, the GL 1 is probably the most common of these instruments and it plays and sounds just great. I own and play a Kala KA-CE (and just got a KA-8E) and the GL 1 - or any Guitalele - does what the video says. It rounds out that sound and makes it thicker, adds low end, and makes it easier to play different types of music that are simply much more difficult on a Ukulele.
Yes, perfectly said. The Yamaha is probably the most common, it may be the one that's been around the longest. Kala and Flight make nice ones as well at a great price point. At some point soon I will be comparing many of the different types of guitarleles. I find them extremely fun to play and love that I can do all my jazz chords on them.
guitarbrad Omg! Great Souls think alike, I just picked up the exact same guitarlele you have a Yamaha GL-1 in Persimmon Brown! In Canada it goes for 129.00 plus tax but it's still cheaper than a lot of ukes plus you get that rich full sound from the lower G and the A and D. I'm actually just finding beautiful chords just messing around on it! I'm so excited because it's actually my very first day playing a guitarlele!
@@rjp63vip That is great, so glad to hear. The Yamaha is a great instrument and one of the first guitaleles on the market. It's such a fun instrument, it's what I take when I walk my kids and usually get a few hours of practice in while they run around the park.
I bought the Yamaha guitarlele and am using regular guitar tuning. AEDGBE. It sounds fine. Later I may experiment to see the difference in tunings.
I have a Yamaha version and I appreciate that it is like starting on the 5th fret of a guitar. There is relatively easy access to high notes used in solos that otherwise might be hard with a traditional guitar that is not cutaway.
Thank you! This is very informative - I just started playing ukulele and I love it. For me it's a perfect instrument - perfect size and form. So it's great to hear that there's even a little guitar in the same shape and size - with all the possibilities to expand into new areas in the future! Great channel, like your other videos too!
Thank you for the comment and welcome to the ukulele, it's a great instrument. The guitarlele is also a great instrument and like you said just an expansion of the ukulele.
I bought a Guitarlele and I do not have any regrets (Yamaha G1). I am originally a guitar player, but I had to move and couldn't take my guitars with me, so the guitarlele came into my like. I can play almost everything that I used to play, even shredding.
Nice, I think it's a great instrument. I do find the frets get closer together than a guitar as you move up the neck which makes playing some chords more difficult but that's about it.
Been playing Ukelele for 5 yrs years , wanted to try guitarlele first time saw it. Purchased a Sound Smith, Love it . Not alot of tutorials,Thank you for the easy to follow lessons.
As a guitarist I use it to texture parts and as my travel companion. I’ve gotten a really cool sound recording my guitalele with a light overdrive.
I think its main advantage IS the size. I’ve come up with a lot of interesting chord voicings. Even when capo’ing a guitar, you still see the neck as a capo’s guitar.
Just order my first Guitarlele yesterday after 4-month on learning Guitar. The travel size and the low A,D string amaze me! Thanks for the video, Now I get excited to go on my "guitar" learning journey on a Guitarlele!
My mum got me one for my birthday and I’m loving it
Awesome, congrats. Which one do you have?
Uke Like The Pros Yamaha GL-1
@@zacevans1683 Perfect, I have one as well. Great instruments and great price.
I was just gifted a Yamaha guitalele and this will be my introduction to learning to play either instrument.
I have a Yamaha Guitalele. Great little instrument and I look forward to learning more about this one. Might be another purchase in my future!
I purchased an Ibanez Ewp14opn Piccolo guitar/ guitarele a little over a year ago. I've been a gigging jazz vocalist for years so I've always had great players around; never gone past dabbling with guitar, in spite of my husband being an instructor.
This little thing got me playing! It's so much fun to strum and sing with! Then I realized the high four strings were the same as the ukulele so I started playing ukulele chords on those strings. Got a Breedlove concert uke coming in tomorrow and I'm also getting the Luna 8-string tenor ukulele. Without knowing any of this my daughter got a soprano uke from a friend when the FB buyer didn't show up! Haha, simultaneously I'm playing bass and saving for an upright! Back to piano to make reading music and music theory more accessible. Exciting!!
This reminds me of when the 7 string electric guitar was invented in the 80's and then the 8 string in the early 2000's. Extended range instruments really open up some cool possibilities.
Wow! When I grow up, I will be a guitarlele... Maraming salamat po!
Thank you for the comment and teaching me a new phrase. Is "maraming salamat po" Filipino?
@@Ukelikethepros Yes! Again, thank you very much.
Been playing ukulele for a while (not very well), and just got a Yamaha GL1 Guitalele. Super excited to learn it but finding it a little hard at the moment as I'm not used to the extra strings. Super cool instrument though. Thanks Terry for making these videos, there's not much else around to help learn this instrument.
So, I just got a Donner Guitarlele for Christmas. I started on a soprano Moukey Ukelele last Christmas and have loved it. I always wanted to play guitar but my hands seemed too small to reach many of the chords. Excited to get started! Love the sound and the added richness of the lower 5th and 6th strings!
I just bought the Yamaha GL1 Guitalele and love it already! Love the size, the sound, how nice the action is and love that it's so versatile. I learned to play my first string instrument which was a banjo ukelele. At the time I was the rhythm section to my Dad's lead mandolin. I hated that bango ukelele!! It was made of stainless steel, it was heavy for a child to play and to me always sounded tinny and too loud, plus my Dad's choice of music to play was light years from what I was interested in playing. I wanted to play guitar.
When i was sixteen i finally had the opportunity to purchase my first guitar, a Yamaha. i have no idea what model it was but it would''ve been 1979 so maybe you can guess. All I know is i walked into a local music shop, told them i wanted to learn guitar and the guy handed me this Yamaha. Well, I hated that guitar!! It was too big (a dreadnought), the action was too high which made effective chording almost impossible for me, and too loud in my opinion. Consequently the guitar lessons didn't go too well and ended up with me paying to hear my teacher show off what he knew and could play on his guitar. So endeth the first attempt at learning guitar.
Many, MANY years later when I hit my late forties I realised that i really did want to learn how to play a guitar reasonably well and set out to accomplish this goal. I bought a mint used Seagull Artist Mosaic accoustic guitar for $500 from a guy who didn't realise what it was worth and signed up for more lessons. I loved that guitar!! Nice easy action, great sound, perfect size for me. I ended up with a great teacher but sucumbed to a long episode of dealing with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome after I'd only had maybe two lessons. I underwent the surgery, a huge success but by that time was needing to make some money and sold my guitar to a guy who knew what it was worth, much to my economic advantage! So endeth the second attempt at learning guitar.
Now we're about five or six years later and again, as winter comes on I get the itch again, you know the one. I decide to start at the beginning where I would start a child. I purchase a ukelele and fool around on that for awhile.Then I ask for and receive a lovely little Seagull Merlin for Christmas 2017. Lot's of fun to fool around on and pick out melodies but the set up is more like a dobro and I have no idea how to attack chording on this thing, despite all the online stuff. And, it's just not a guitar. What I REALLY want to learn is the guitar so I can cross it off my list of "To Do's" in my lifetime. Hence the purchase of the GL1. I'm really, REALLY hoping this will be a good place to start yet again and then transition to a guitar when I start to feel the BIG itch!
So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! I'm hoping that by watching some of your videos I'll learn some things and start to feel more confident and ready to take on a full size guitar again. I think though that this time I'll hang onto this sweet little thing and have it as a travel instrument!
Cheers!
Lynda Armstrong
Lynda, thanks for sharing you great journey of music and the guitar which has now lead us to the guitarlele and this video. I as well love the guitarlele, it's my go to instrument especially when I go out to the park and play. Although the tuning is different than the guitar all the chords and songs you learn on the guitarlele will transfer over to the guitar.
Yamaha is a great company, I do know the late 70's models you speak of but don't really know the model names. I have several nylon string Yamahas from the 70's.
I really like what Yamaha is doing with acoustic steel string guitars, for $150-$300 you can get a really nice acoustic guitar.
I recently bought a GL1 to do a comparison video vs. my KoAloha and the Flight GUT 350. I like the sound and shape of the GL1, for $99 it is a great instrument. My KoAloha has a little wider of a neck which is good for my fingers and the neck it slimmer than the GL1.
But we are also talking about a $750 KoAloha vs. the $99 GL1.
I have some Guitarlele videos here on UA-cam and will be posting more.
Also, when your ready I just released a Guitarele Course at www.ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course
Enjoy the lessons and stick with it.
I play classical music in a guitar trio FORCOLA. We use 2 guitarlels and ukuleles and combine these instruments with classical guitars. I use guitarlele mostly for solo parts in the works of Bach, Mozart and other composers. Guitalele beautifully sounds in a band with classical guitars thanks to the interesting timbre of sound. It also allows you to use the first position in high solo parts. This has a beneficial effect on the timbre and technique. Guitalele has a wider scale compared to ukulele. Thanks to this, it can be used without limitations related to ukulele which has only 4 strings. I recommend checking the length of your guitalele strings and choosing the right tune and strings thickness. On my YAMAHA guitalele, I raised tune to H to get the right string tension. This made it possible to get a more clear and powerful sound.
It’s music, it’s artistic, it’s moving, not static. Awesome guitalele or guitarlele, whatever, it’s awesome! Music is moving and changing
Nicely said.
I just ordered the yam.
Iv owned a few Ukes been a bassist for 21 years. I play double bass and a lot of acoustic guitar in my punk band and sing. This thing is something I am really pumped about. A fellow bassist friend of mine owns own and loves it. Can’t wait.
just ordered up a baritone uke.. electrics and occasional acoustic guitars have been what i mostly played. I appreciate the tuning which carries over the same scales that Iam finally learning how to use and the easier finger placeing will be a win-win for me...
Of course this 6 string uke has possibilities.
I ve got one. I bought it by mistake. I actually wanted to buy a mini guitar but hey... LOL... I tuned it like a guitar first like E A D G B E ... it sounded sloppy and I wasn't happy. but when I tuned it like UKULELE I was surprised with it.... Now I play it all the time and I love it and I have it as my additional next to my Ukues...
My problem was I couldn't find lots of lessons videos on the Guitalele, thanks
Haha, a perfect mistake. That are great and play mine all the time as well. I have a lot of Guitarlele lessons in youtube and also a course up at ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course
I bought a Luna Guitalele about a year ago. I struggled with it for a long time and then since I used to play the guitar just tuned it as a guitar. I like playing it like a guitar but your video is making me think of trying again to try to tune and play it like a ukulele. Thanks!
Well, in latin América exist the "Requinto", it has the same tunning but bigger (like a little Martin Scale) and has more frets
Exactly, perfectly said.
I thought about the guitalele for the reasons you mentioned: the cumbersome nature of the guitar, and was looking for a small-body guitar and landed on its 4-string descendant of a Portuguese branch of the guitar family tree. I"m happy with my choice of tenor-sized ukulele.
I had my instrument for almost 2 years before I found out online how to tune it properly so I could enjoy playing it, and that was on the year 2014 when I bought it, thank you for your video, I could use that information.
You are welcome, I'm glad it helped. I have a bunch of guitarlele videos here on my guitarlele playlist bit.ly/2SQsFIg
My son just bought me a Yamaha guitalele and I'm excited to learn to play it. I've only played guitars.
I just purchased the Sound Smith Guitalele. Waiting for it to ship....Your video is most helpful. Thank you!
Bought a Yamaha a few years ago and just picked it up again to play. Thank you for your videos, they were perfect to get me going. I’ve studied Suzuki violin and played some worship guitar so very excited to learn this instrument!
I just got an Ibanez EWP13 - I love the sound and I can’t wait to familiarise myself with it! Thanks for the useful videos, I’ll be checking out the full course, of course...
I have some electric 19 inch scale guitars with steel strings. Some people tune them to A, but if you use heavy strings (.013) you can standard tune with low E. I can play my nylon string soprano uke but can't get a good sound if I try to play the 4 high strings of a small guitar. Makes a great travel guitar.
Yes, someone else just mentioned to use heavy strings on a guitalele if you are going to use guitar tuning. Soprano ukuleles are tough because they don't have much low end or warmth, but yes great to travel with.
Funny. This evening I was actually working on mine. I don't care much for the size, but for the harmonic colour. So, it is a full scale cheap travel guitar fitted with the normal first strings (E-B-G), but with the 3 big ones (D-A-E) tuned one octava higher using swaped string gauges. With it's limited size body and table (sustain killer) and a 5th fret capo, the illusion is quite good.
Interesting, cool tuning. Do you use it to overdub and create cool layering parts?
You can play also the ancient vihuela of you tune the third cord just a half-note lower, in B.
I have a Spanish vihuela in A and I'm considering buying a guitalele as well. There's so much amazing music written for vihuela, 6 course lute, and viola da gamba that is quite playable on this instrument
the ukulele is not limited at all,start learning campanella techniques with a high G string and you can play stuff just not possible on any other instrument,this is just like a mini guitar that the uke exactly isn't :) just my two cents,the ukulele is not a toy guitar,this is...
The ukulele _is_ limited in its range. I think that's all he's saying here. I agree that the high G on a uke offers some great possibilities that aren't available on the guitar, large _or_ small, but that doesn't illegitimize this instrument.
Still, the term "guitarlele" is an unfortunately ignorant name for it.
Youre stupid lol this is not a toy guitar
The chart was really helpful, thank you so much, my parents always ask me to learn these weird wacky instruments they find and buy, and I had given up guitalele, but this really helped.
Hi. I just got a Yamaha Guitarlele GL1 and I am an absolute beginner. I have never played any instrument before! Hoping to learn more about guitarlele from you!
I just started getting into the ukulele and I am reading about different sizes and came across the guitalele.
I've been playing a soprano uke for about 2 years and I love it. I'm going to get a guitalele next month and start learning that. I won't stop playing the uke though. I really like the deeper sound on the guitalele more guitar like as you mentioned. I tried a low G string on the uke but I didn't like it so I took it off. it just didn't sound right to my ear. Thank you for the guitalele chord chart. That's really going to help when I bring the guitalele home. So far I like the Yamaha guitalele
That is so cool. Sopranos are fun to play. The low G I think sounds better on a tenor or even a concert ukulele. It's good to have both a high G and a low G ukulele so you can play a wider variety of material.
Once you get a guitarlele, check out the other guitarlele videos I have here on UA-cam as well as my guitarlele course bit.ly/2R0R4JS
I'm a multi-instrumentalist, mostly guitar, bass, mandolin, violin, viola, and ukulele. I've probably paid less attention to the uke than to any of the others, but in a recent fit of curiosity I also rolled the dice on a Cordoba Mini M. It's essentially a guitarlele, but with spruce top and mahogany laminate back and sides.
And okay, I'm hooked. These things are roughly the size of tenor ukes, but closer to the guitar's versatility. I'll be literally downsizing over the next couple of years in terms of both quantity and size, and I think a good quality guitarlele will wind up featuring prominently in my pared-down instrument lineup. I'm thinking about one of the bass ukes too, as it'll definitely take up less space than a standard Fender P-bass.
In short, you have my attention. :)
I don't have one but want one. I have a tenor, baritone, and a concert. Love the sound of this one and the option to expand.
I just got the Guitalele Bible a month ago, now I have all the chords and inversions
I love my ukulele but do find it a bit limiting sometimes on songs I learned years ago on the guitar. But I work it out on the ukulele. I do have a guitarlele by Ortega. I really like it a lot but don't play it as much but I am doing more with it now. I do not play my guitar much as it has become cumbersome and harder to finger the chords like I could when I was younger. So when I saw the guitarlele I wanted one. To me it is a cross between and guitar and ukulele . Haveing the 2 extra strings makes it cool for some tunes. Thanks for the video !
Great comment, thank you for sharing. Guitar players don't believe me when I mention things that you talk about here. I have a good amount of guitalele content here on youtube and also a great guitarlele course on my site, ukelikethepros.com/guitarlele-course
i got myself a Ortega RGLE18FMH last november, and i lover her, she is beatiful and she became my favourite guitar... to play.
my 4/4 classical guitar hangs at the wall for 5 months now and if i sometimes take her she feels so big and unhandy now
You have increased my interest in the Romero Creations TT6. I like the additional breadth that it gives . . .
I love my guitalele. I have a Kala. I’ve only played an ukulele, but I love the deeper tones of the guitalele. Thanks for putting tutorials out there. Much appreciated!
I just got an guitarlele for my birthday and so it's time to practise:)), It is my first time with a instrument with strings:)
Have recently purchased the Yahama guitalele. I don’t fit around a more standard sized guitar, but wanted more than just four strings on a uke. Absolute beginner, so some interesting times ahead!
Just got the Yamaha one. I mainly play guitar but wanted something to write melodies on the couch or to take for travel and camping. I really want an 8 string Cuatro but don’t want to spend a lot of money so this will have to do. Fun little instrument.
You have a great channel brother I purchased yahama guitarlele after watching your videos,, it's a great instrument and quite portable.
It helps a lot if you have guitar a background. Have played some GUsfor extended times here and there and would like to get one in the future.
Your right, the wider neck makes it a bit tricker to go from 4 string ukulele to guitarlele. Although I think the tenor sized body and neck lenght of the guitalele would make it easier for a beginner to learn than even a small sized guitar. What do you think?
To everyone saying that this sounds like a small guitar and feel like there’s nothing unique about the guitarlele, Uke Like the Pros did another video comparing the Requinto guitar and the guitarlele in a sound comparison if you want to hear what makes the guitalele different / unique.
Ukulele is basically the first 4 strings barred at the 5th fret up and the low string being an octave higher, so this is basically a guitar with a capo at the 5th fret and use the CAGED theory or regular open chords, it's easier to figure out if you have a real good concept of guitar chords.
Yes you could think of it that way and it that works for you than awesome. I find it easier just to learn the new chord names and scales cause if not my mind tends to jump back and forth between guitar and guitalele tuning.
My son got me a guitarlele for Christmas and I really want to learn.
i was really having hard time deciding what to buy because my budget is limited. I thought ukulele would be best because its not pricey like guitar but it feels like ukulele is not the sound that i wanted. but after watching this im convinced, i need guitalele. A good way to start
I went to Brazil with my ukulele but had to leave it there so I could bring my partner's newly made guitar. Now we just moved into a new place and I was looking into buying a ukulele (preferably) or a guitar, but I entered a music shop and saw the Yamaha guitarlele and ended up buying, after all, why not? The guy said I could return it the next day in case I didn't want it. So now I'm looking for videos to learn more about it and see if I will continue with this or return it to get a ukulele. This video was very clarifying, I'm most likely keeping in now! Thank you very much! The only thing that I'm uncertain about is that I'm not used to using a low G so will have to see how adapting will turn out (I'm not a great player of anything, but sure can learn:) ).
I only JUST learned that a guitarlele is a thing. I'm intrigued by the idea, as I have started to think I might like to learn to play the guitar.
I have been to the Koaloha factory/store and, now that I think about it, they may have mentioned the guitarlele, but it didn't stick in my memory.
I would LOVE a Koaloha instrument, wink wink. But for now, there is a local music store that has them or would be able to get them.
I got one from my local friendly music shop kind of as a joke. It was like 90 bucks, its a cheap yamaha. I totally love it haha. Its really fun to play.
Intresting idea. I think it could be great for kids to learn on and seems like a good instrument.
The body size and neck length is definiety good for kids, the biggest challenge will be the width of the neck, it's similar to a classical guitar but the neck is thinner, so a bit easier to play.
As a bassist, the guitalele is perfect because I get a ukelele plus the low end that calls to me. Also I see it as the equivalent to a 5string bass for ukelele
The lower 4 strings of the uke is the same with the lower 4 strings of the guitar in terms of chord formation, the only difference between them is the key. Like in the video, the "C" key in the Uke is the "G" chord of the guitar.
Yes you are correct in your understanding. Although you say the word "lower 4 strings" and although I believe you are referring to the 4 strings closest to the floor, we would really call those the higher strings or strings 1-4.
I’ve had a guitarlele for about 7 yrs..it’s a kanilea..sounds great in the right tuning..but if you’re a singer songs would be a little high as a male..so I now tune my guitarlele..Bb to Bb..now I can sing and do most of my guitar songs..been using it on tour all these yrs and people are like what is that an ukulele?..little guitar?..they seem to like the sound
Great point and it's cool that you tune Bb to Bb. Doesn't that raise the pitch even higher than the standard A tuning? People always do a double take when I have it, cause they think it's an ukulele and get curious about the 6 strings.
I somehow accidentally found out about Guitalele today, and then found my way here to your video.
I’m intrigued by this instrument. I’ve mostly avoided ukulele because I tend to like instruments that have some low end also. I play guitar and bass.
This instrument is really interesting though. I’ll check out your other videos about it.
The guitalele is great for the added low end, one of the reasons why I like it as well. Here is my playlist of guitarlele videos, with more on the way. ua-cam.com/play/PLB4hT1OuHQ2e3ooowKUBh8gjpLpCttnLn.html
This would be perfect for me! The bossa flair is perfect on this, I need one right away
Your two statements out of the box described me to a tee. Yes , uke limited, full size acoustic not comfortable. You have got me interested. I will be checking your site. Thanks.
Looks like a cool little instrument. I have a Baritone uke but i did look at yamaha's guitarlet at one point. I like the baritone because the shapes are like a guitar and i am still learning.
Baritones are very cool. The baritone actually has a bigger body and a longer neck than the guitalele. I have a baritone as well and it's just a cool sounding instrument.
I bought a guitarlele from Luna which came tuned as a guitar E to E. It sounds more like a guitar. I was having trouble with the size of a regular guitar.
Good to know about this instrument Guitalele.. thank you for sharing..
I just got a guitalele (Yamaha GL1) and after my guitar it is really weird that it's so small, but I love to play on it :D
True, it takes a little time to adjust, but then when you go back to guitar it will seem huge.
I had a 5 string ukulele built, that fits into a roll-aboard.
The 6th string just needs more length to sound good, so I have 5 string guitar that's closer in length to a ukulele... easy to bring along, easy to play as a guitar...
I have a Yamaha GL1 i bought second hand. Very useful for making sense of you tube guitar tutorials.
I Love my GL-1 Guitalele, just wish there was a complete instruction for it
The GL-1 is great, I have a comparison video with the GL-1, my KoAloha and the Flight GUT-350. I wrote a complete course for guitalele at www.ukelikethepros.com/p/guitarlele-course
Oh, dang, now I want a guitarlele.
They are pretty cool, I really dig mine and I love guitar and ukulele.
helpful for me confusing decision thanks a lot
Just learning ukulele and often get restricted by the things that can be done on a uke, this is a blessing. Could take hotel California to whole new level with this thing.😂😂😂
Right. I’m gonna buy one
how'd it go?
I have Yamaha GL1 - it's has great sound with hard tension strings (you can even tune it to original guitar sound), but playing on it for a while I can say that big guitar sounds much better but due to size it still really good for traveling!
Hey! I'm glad to hear it's been going well so far! I'm also thinking of purchasing the Yamaha GL1! So because the strings are high tension can I learn 'regular guitar' chords with it? Since I want to learn guitar without the commitment of learning an entirely new instrument and having the ukulele chords to fall back on to. Would you recommend it to me?
I like the idea. It's better then lugging around a full size guitar. Anyway, I've got long fingers, and hand, while the wide fret board would likely work well for me (more comfortable). In any case, the top two strings could be removed if someone just wants to play it as a uke.
Thanks for the explanation. I had thought a guitarlele was just a small guitar. I prefer the baritone scale over my tenor so this makes me think of the possibilities of accessing the lower range of those bottom two strings. It’s something I will need to look into further. I look forward to your upcoming videos.
Yes I agree, I like the longer neck of the baritone as well. I think the guitarlele is nice because although the neck is wider than a tenor ukulele it has the same exact length. I think if the body and neck of the gutiarlele started to get bigger than you are getting into mini guitar more. Will be sharing more videos this week.
Steven M. Gerardi
Actually, it IS a small guitar. Put a capodaster on the fifth fret of the guitar: and you have the guitarlele.
@@laertesdd I replied to your other comment, but I'll do a video and I'll play a guitarlele and play a guitar at the 5th fret. I think the sound is completely different even though the tunings are the same.
Uke Like The Pros
That was my point - and only that: both ukulele and guitar have the same relative tuning (meaning the intervals between the strings), only the low g-ukule is tuned five semitones (or a fourth) higher than the guitar in standard tuning. The timbre is, as you say, of course very different. I am looking forward to seeing your vid in which you compare a capo-ed guitar with the guitarlele! 😊
@@laertesdd Really appreciate your opinions and comments. Thank you
Hi there! Can you PLEASE tell me... for the guitalele course, is it for brand new beginners who have NOT played the uke or guitar?? I am brand new to the guitalele and enjoyed your videos, playing along the best of my ability. I keep going to your checkout/complete my purchase for this course but am afraid it will be too hard! I have never played guitar or uke.
THANKS and I hope to hear back from you with hopefully good news so I can purchase your course!!!
CHEERS and much thanks!
I was looking at getting one 230.00 Canadain all in. For my birthday. He has on sale. I am still learning. But I liked it was pretty. BCG18 cross over guitar/ukulele. Was thinking of putting on a deposit. But still a lot of $ for me right now. I really want a concert ukulele with a pick up and built in tuner. It’s not high or low and it’s show room model I think it’s a good deal. The whole sale was 325.00 . What do you think ?
I appreciate your videos. Thank God for UA-cam. I can learn from home. I have a Yamaha GL1 and love it. :-)
Hey!
I just bought a Guitalele!
I think it doesn't have specified name. It's called Guitlele or guitalele or even guitarlele!
It would be awesome if you could make a video on scales and chords though!
That is great, what one did you get? Yes you are correct I see guitele, guitalele, and guitarlele as well. I pronounce it guitarlele, it's just easier for me to say. Great point on the lessons, please continue to follow the videos I'll be posting this week as I will begin to answer those concerns.
I like my Cordoba guitalele, but it can’t hold a candle to my Kremona Sophia classical. But I’m very attached to my Kremoba, and after a 2nd mishap by airport personnel, I got the guitalele so that if it got lost it wouldn’t break my heart. I use a nylon stringed instrument because I play in 8 different tunings and nylon tolerates that. 2 or 3 changes on the steel the strings would break at the machines. I wish more people used the guitalele. Oh, and fits well in the plane overhead.
I’m a bass and ukulele player, how would this instrument benefit me in learning anything new or help in the long run?
Right on, 2 great instruments. As a bass player I think you would enjoy having the 2 extra strings of the guitarlele. It's the same tuning as a ukulele and then adds a low D and A string. The main reason I like the guitarlele compared to the ukulele is that the 2 extra strings allow me to play fuller chord shapes, lower arpeggios, and even walking bass lines.
Uke Like The Pros Oh that sounds pretty cool but how about in the long run how can it help me within music and what makes it stand out compared to either a guitar or a ukulele?
@@anthony4513 Playing multiple string instruments I believe will help you overall as a musician. Stretching your knowledge of tunings and techniques on different instruments will keep your brain active and may even inspire you to write new material as you hear the different timbres. Essentially as mentioned the guitarlele is a 6 string ukulele. It has the same body and scale length (at least my KoAloha guitarlele) as a tenor ukulele. Compared to a guitar the body is smaller, the neck is shorter and the tuning is a 4th higher than the guitar.
Hye! Just got me one! Really love your strap, can you share the link to where you got it? Thanks
Thank you. It was an old belt my grandpa owned that we made into a strap.
@@Ukelikethepros Nice
I play the guitar, both acoustic and classical. I also play ukulele and Banjolele. I'm thinking about a guitarlele. Two questions. 1. Do you recommend a make, not too expensive? 2. You you get an electro?
Awesome, you'll love the guitarlele. I recommend the KoAloha Guitarlele and the Romero Creations Guitele but they are around $800. There are not a lot of options but the Lanikai Guitarlele is cool about $400 and it's a baritone size so it's bigger than most. Then the standard which is actually not bad for the price is the Yamaha GL-1 which is about $99 on Amazon.
Caramel CB204G 6 String All Solid Acacia Acoustic & Electric Ukulele Guitalele 😽👍
Yes the Caramel is a cool instrument, I haven't played one but some of my members have one and really love them.
c'mon dude.. it's a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret... that's it, no magic
I understand what you are saying and this has probably been most popular comment. I agree the tuning of the guitarlele is the same as a guitar capo 5, but honestly the sound and the feel of playing a guitarlele is completely different. I love guitar, I've made a living as a guitar player for the last 20 years, but the guitarlele is different. I would suggest going and playing one and seeing for yourself, you might be surprised.
I did play a Kala branded guitarlele and it was a pretty pleasant experience. Granted it didn't have as deep of a sound and bass as your standard or travel classical guitar, but it's a unique sound nonetheless. Should've taken the 20% Christmas discount last year and bought one, regretti spaghetti. I play both the ukulele and the guitar and this is a good in between. My only gripe is the price of these and the Kala.
Your exactly right, it really has more of a ukulele sound rather than a standard or travel classical guitar, But I find it much easier to travel with. I still have to try the Kala guitalele.
@@Ukelikethepros You don't need to confuse people by naming it "different". It still goes by basic CAGED concept and actually learning and applying similarities makes it easy to play
Different = hard. Similar = easy to understand
The guitar is an evolution of the Renaissance Guitar, which is basically a ukulele. So Guitars are just big Ukuleles. That's it, no magic.
Hey Terry, thanks for this awesome video!😊 I‘ll get a guitarlele for my birthday at the end of november so I‘m really looking forward to your upcoming videos! Greetings from Germany✌🏻😉
Yes, that is so awesome to hear. What one did you get?
The Flight GUT350 Guitarlele😊
Awesome, they make great instruments.
Yes, I‘ve heard a lot of positive things about them and the instruments just look fabulous 😄