Hi guitslinger - thanks for the greetings. I used to lived in Canada: at the other end - B.C. - about 30 years ago. I spent 4 years there, but the nearest I ever got to Newfoundland was Quebec City! I'm really enjoying playing both the Tele and the Strat - and I'm learning more and more about how and what to get out of them from the forums here.

Again, thanks, I'm not sure who came up with the name, I've only been in on the ride for a year, but it's certainly turning into a great adventure.

Ukulele tuning is in 4ths, so, coming from guitar, the simplest way to think of ukulele tuning is to think of it as a tenor guitar (which has just 4 strings, tuned DGBE) with a capo on the 5th or 6th fret. 'C' tuning is the same as a tenor guitar with a capo on the 5th fret (GCEA); 'D' tuning is the same as a tenor guitar with a capo on the 6th fret (ADF#G).
In other words, you use the same shapes whichever tuning you choose: the shapes simply map on to different chords. So 0003 yields a 'G' chord on a tenor guitar (or baritone uke); a 'C' chord on a 'C' tuned uke; and a 'D' chord on a 'D' tuned uke.

So whether you re-tune to C or leave your uke in D, you'll still be able to play along with the guitar. The influence of the internet has led to a convergence on GCEA - 'C' tuning - as the standard. But before the internet, about half the ukulele world tuned their (soprano) ukes to D, and half to C, and 'D' tuning is still very popular in Canada. The great James Hill (from Langley, B.C., and now resident in N.S. http://jameshillmusic.com/) prefers 'D' tuning. Amongst experienced ukulele players (more experienced than me, at any rate), the question of which tuning really makes your uke 'sing' remains a lively topic of discussion. Chordie.com offers guitar -to-ukulele transpositions to both 'C' and 'D' tuning.

Optimum tuning pitch depends on two factors: scale length and construction material. As you know, the longer the string length, the lower the pitch, all else being equal. So as you move up in scale length from soprano to tenor to baritone uke, you'd expect the optimum tuning to get lower and lower. So while 'D' is the tuning of choice for many soprano ukesters, I don't know anyone who has a tenor uke tuned to 'D'..../cont.

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2001 Princeton 65 Dyna-Touch™ SS Amplifier
2008 American Standard Telecaster Natural Ash
2009 American Special Stratocaster 2-Tone Sunburst
2012 Fender® Baseball

cont..../and standard tuning for a baritone is DGBE - 'G' tuning.

However construction material also plays a part. I have two sub-soprano scale ukes. One is custom-made from cherry; and the other, a Kala pocket uke (mass-produced) and made from mahogany. It is about twice the weight of the custom (and about half the price!). The only way I can get the latter to 'sing' is if I tune it up to CFAD (capo on the 10th fret!). The lightweight custom sounds great tuned in 'C'. Though I have heard that changing the make of string from Aquila to Worths does allow the Kala to 'sing' when tuned to 'C'.

So in short, either 'C' or 'D' tuning is fine. Try both, and choose the one that sounds best on your uke. You're going to have to transpose your guitar shapes whichever tuning you choose.

HTH

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2001 Princeton 65 Dyna-Touch™ SS Amplifier
2008 American Standard Telecaster Natural Ash
2009 American Special Stratocaster 2-Tone Sunburst
2012 Fender® Baseball

Thanks for such a detailed and indepth explaination Red Paul 1.I can see that you will be a valued member of the forum.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.