Three Open Strings, One Ringing Chord: Your First Campanella on High-G Ukulele

What You Will Play

Three notes — E4, G4, A4 — form the simplest ascending figure you can pull from a high-G ukulele's open strings. By the end of this lesson you will play that figure in two entirely different ways, hear how they sound different, and understand why one of them is called campanella: Italian for "little bell."

The first way uses a single string. The second spreads each note across a different string so that earlier notes keep ringing while later ones begin. That overlap is the bell-like shimmer that defines campanella playing, and learning it here — on three open strings, before any left-hand fingering is involved — gives you the cleanest possible introduction to the technique.

You will need a tuned ukulele in high-G C tuning, a quiet room where you can hear the strings ring clearly, and about twenty minutes of focused time. Route B (Sections 3–4) needs no left-hand fingering at all — only plucking; Route A in Section 2 does use frets 3 and 5. The full campanella bar in Section 6 is where the real listening work begins.

The four open strings in string order. Fret zero means the string is plucked unfretted. G4 first, then the pitch dips to C4 and climbs through E4 to A4.

Section 1: Confirm Your High-G Tuning

Before you play a single note, confirm that your ukulele is in high-G C tuning: G4–C4–E4–A4 from string 4 to string 1. The critical detail is the "high G" part. On a standard high-G ukulele, string 4 sounds G4 — the same G as string 2, fret 3 — not G3, which is an octave lower.

Pluck string 4 open and string 2 at fret 3 one after the other. They should sound like the same pitch in the same octave, not a low rumble followed by a bright note. If string 4 sounds an octave lower, your instrument has a low-G string installed, and the three-string campanella in this lesson will not work as written. Ask your teacher to confirm the setup before continuing.

String 4 at fret 0 gives G4, the same pitch as string 2 at fret 3. C4 (string 3 open) and D4 (string 3 fret 2) sit well below — that height gap is the reentrant jump. String 4 is higher in pitch than strings 3 and 2.

The word reentrant describes a tuning where the strings do not run from lowest to highest pitch in physical order. On your high-G ukulele, the pitch order from low to high is C4 (string 3), E4 (string 2), G4 (string 4; also string 2 fret 3), A4 (string 1). String 4 "re-enters" the pitch range from above rather than continuing downward. That quirk is precisely what makes campanella possible: G4 lives on string 4 at fret zero, right next to E4 on string 2 at fret zero, so you can pluck them in sequence without either hand stopping the previous sound.

String map for high-G C tuning. Each row is one string; each column adds one half step. String 4 fret 0 (G4) shares the same pitch as string 2 fret 3.

The reentrant layout also explains why this lesson focuses on the three pitches E4, G4, A4 specifically. They are the three highest open-string pitches, and they sit on strings 2, 4, and 1 respectively — three separate strings, each playable at fret zero. No other three-note ascending group from the open strings has this property.

G4 also appears on string 2 at fret 3. This means you can play G4 in two places: string 4 open, or string 2 fret 3. Both are correct. Route A uses string 2 fret 3 for G4; Route B uses string 4 fret 0. That is the entire difference between the two routes — one G4 on a fretted string that cancels the previous sound, and one G4 on an open string that can ring alongside it.

G4 on two strings: string 4 at fret 0 and string 2 at fret 3, shown twice. Route A uses fret 3; Route B uses open string 4.

This two-pitch-one-location relationship is a direct consequence of reentrant tuning: because string 4 sounds G4 rather than the lower G3 you might expect, the same pitch turns up in two different physical spots.

Reentrant tuning: the pitch ladder (left) and physical string order (right) do not match. String 4 sounds higher than strings 3 and 2.

Section 2: Play E–G–A on One String (Route A)

String 2, unfretted, gives you E4. Press string 2 at fret 3 and you raise the pitch by three half steps to G4. Press fret 5 and you reach A4 — two more half steps. Three notes, one string, three fret positions: this is Route A.

To count those half steps: E4 at fret 0, F4 at fret 1, F♯4 at fret 2, G4 at fret 3. That is three frets, three half steps upward. Then G♯4 at fret 4, A4 at fret 5. The interval from E4 to G4 is a minor third (three half steps); from G4 to A4 is a major second (two half steps). If you have worked through the Staff and Treble Clef worksheet, you can verify these positions on the staff too: E4 sits on the bottom line, G4 on the second line, A4 in the second space.

String 2 from fret 0 to fret 5: E4, F4, F♯4, G4, G♯4, A4. Route A uses frets 0, 3, and 5 — the highlighted positions E4, G4, A4.

Play it now at a slow, even quarter-note pace. Pluck, then press fret 3 without releasing fret 0 — actually there is nothing to release because open strings need no left-hand contact — so simply set your finger on fret 3, pluck, shift to fret 5, pluck. The sequence is E4, G4, A4, and each note stops the instant your finger touches the string for the next one.

Route A: three positions on string 2. Frets 0, 3, 5 produce E4, G4, A4 in order. A quarter rest ends the bar. The new finger stops the previous sound.

That last sentence is the important one. Every time you press a fret on string 2, the previous sound stops. The melody is sequential: you hear E4, then silence (or near-silence), then G4, then silence, then A4. This is perfectly correct phrasing for many contexts. But it is not campanella.

The full Route A bar in 4/4: E4 on beat 1, G4 on beat 2, A4 on beat 3, rest on beat 4. Each note is one count long, then stops when the next begins.

Section 3: Locate the Same Pitches on Open Strings 2, 4, and 1 (Route B)

Now find the same three pitches at fret zero on three different strings. String 2 open gives E4 — you already know that one. String 4 open gives G4. String 1 open gives A4. The pitch sequence E4–G4–A4 is identical to Route A. The string and fret assignments are entirely different.

Route B: three open strings. String 2 gives E4, string 4 gives G4, string 1 gives A4. All fret zero.

Pluck string 2, then string 4, then string 1. Listen carefully. Because each note lives on its own string, the earlier strings are still vibrating when you reach the next one. You have not stopped string 2 when you pluck string 4, and you have not stopped string 4 when you pluck string 1. All three sounds overlap.

That overlap is campanella.

Same pitches, different routes. Route A (top) uses one string at three fret positions. Route B (bottom) uses three strings at fret zero. The notation looks nearly identical; the sound is very different.

Campanella has roots in 17th-century Baroque guitar playing — composers like Gaspar Sanz exploited the guitar's reentrant tuning, just as the ukulele's high-G string does, to place neighboring melody notes on separate strings so they ring together. Ukulele players adopted the same approach because the instrument's four strings — especially with the reentrant high-G string — place several common pitches on adjacent strings at fret zero. Sam Muir, writing at I Love Classical Ukulele, likens campanella to an impressionist painting, where overlapping tones blur into shades of color rather than separate strokes.

Route A versus Route B compared side by side. Route A uses one string and stops each note with the next finger placement. Route B uses three strings so notes accumulate and ring together.

Section 4: Pluck Without Touching a Ringing Neighbor

Route B introduces a right-hand challenge that Route A does not have: you must reach string 4 without brushing string 2, and then reach string 1 without brushing string 4. On a soprano or concert ukulele these strings are close together — only a few millimeters apart — slightly wider near the sound hole where most players pluck.

The practical solution is small, precise strokes. Use the pad of your index finger for string 2 (pulling slightly toward your palm), then the middle finger for string 4, then the ring finger (or index finger again, depending on your teacher's preferred fingering) for string 1. The goal is that each stroke contacts only the target string. Think of plucking upward and away from the soundboard rather than sweeping laterally across the strings.

There is no single correct right-hand finger assignment for campanella; different teachers and traditions use different approaches. What every approach agrees on is that the stroke must be clean enough that strings 2 and 4 keep ringing after you have moved on. If you hear either of them stopping abruptly, your hand is making contact it should not. Slow down and isolate the problematic stroke.

Three steps for clean Route B plucking: name the target string before moving, aim the stroke at that string only, then listen for all earlier strings still sounding.

Section 5: Hear Sequential Versus Overlapping Release

Play Route A and Route B back to back at the same tempo — perhaps 60 beats per minute to start. The difference is audible even at this slow speed. Route A gives you a clear, clean sequence of three separate tones. Route B gives you a wash of sound that grows with each note, reaching a full chord — E4, G4, A4 — at the moment you pluck string 1.

On Route A, you hear three notes. On Route B, by beat 3, you hear three notes at once.

This is not a subtle effect. E4–G4–A4 together outline a small cluster of three pitches. The interval from E4 to A4 is a perfect fourth; from E4 to G4 is a minor third; from G4 to A4 is a major second. Playing all three together produces a sound that evokes A minor or A minor 7 without being a full chord — more of a shimmer than a chord voicing. The harmonic analysis is less important than the sensation: the sound fills out as you play, rather than moving through three separate events.

Notice also how the volume of sound increases as each new note enters. When only E4 rings, the sound is thin. When G4 joins it, the sound widens. When A4 arrives, all three strings are vibrating at once, and the combined resonance of the instrument body is louder than any single note. This natural crescendo is one reason campanella phrases feel expressive even at a slow tempo: the sound grows without the player doing anything extra.

Duration timeline for Route B's campanella bar. E4 begins on beat 1 and rings for three beats; G4 joins on beat 2 for two beats; A4 joins on beat 3 for one beat. At beat 3, all three pitches sound together.

Section 6: Finish All Three Sounds Together

Once you can play Route B cleanly three times in a row, try the full written campanella bar. In this notation, E4 is a dotted half note (three beats), G4 enters on beat 2 as a half note (two beats), and A4 enters on beat 3 as a quarter note (one beat). All three notes reach beat 4 together and stop there — in practice, your teacher will give a cue, and you will lightly touch all three strings with your right hand to silence them simultaneously.

The campanella bar. E4 enters on beat 1 for three beats; G4 on beat 2 for two beats; A4 on beat 3 for one beat. At beat 4, release all three strings together. This notation uses multiple voices in one bar to show the separate durations.

The notation uses multiple voices — three simultaneous note-stems pointing in different directions — to show that each pitch has its own duration. If you have not seen this before, the Ties vs Slurs worksheet explains how held notes are written, and the The Rests worksheet explains rests as written markers of silence. In this bar, the rests fill the voice lines after each note ends, but since each voice has already rung past its written rest on the strings, the rests are mainly a reading signal rather than a physical instruction to stop.

Counting out loud helps enormously here. Say "1, 2, 3, 4" at a steady pulse. Pluck string 2 on 1. Pluck string 4 on 2. Pluck string 1 on 3. On 4, touch all three strings lightly with your right-hand fingers. The spoken count anchors each entry.

For reading the three pitches on the treble staff: E4 sits on the bottom line of the staff, G4 sits on the second line, and A4 sits in the second space just above it. The Staff and Treble Clef worksheet maps every line and space if you want to review the locations. The three pitches are close together in the staff — only a small range of three notes — so the visual pattern of bottom line, second line, second space is easy to remember as a group.

Section 7: Choose a Route for a Stated Sustain Goal

Both routes are correct. Choosing between them is a musical decision, not a technical one. The question is: do you want the notes to stop one another, or do you want them to accumulate?

Route A is better when:

• You need a crisp, detached articulation
• The melody moves through the same note name twice in a row (E4 then E4 again — Route B would use the same string twice and cancel the first anyway)
• You are harmonizing with chords that clash with the held tones
• The phrase moves fast enough that the overlapping ring becomes muddled

Route B (campanella) is better when:

• You want the characteristic bell-like shimmer of overlapping tone
• The melody ascends through pitches that live on separate open strings
• You are playing slowly enough that the accumulation is clean rather than blurry
• Your teacher or the written score specifically asks for campanella style

A two-bar phrase using only Route B open strings: up and back. Play each bar as a campanella bar, letting all strings ring through each bar. The descending return (A4, G4, E4) begins on the last beat of bar 1 and finishes in bar 2.

Now play the same phrase on Route A to hear the contrast: every note cuts the last one.

The same melody on Route A: string 2 only, frets 0, 3, 5 and back. Every note stops the previous one. Compare the feel of this version with the Route B version above.

Now play both versions of the two-bar phrase and decide which you prefer for each of these situations:

1. You want to end the phrase with a chord-like shimmer.
2. You want the melody to sound like a clear, single voice without extra resonance.
3. Your teacher asks you to use "campanella style throughout."

The One Melody, Three Ringing Strings worksheet lays out both routes side by side with a duration table showing how long each open string rings in the campanella bar. The Keep the Earlier Note Ringing worksheet gives you a longer passage and asks you to choose, bar by bar, which route gives the better result for the stated musical goal.

Practice check: for each note in this phrase, write down which string you would use to keep earlier notes ringing. Compare your answer with your teacher.

Practice Suggestions

Work through these in order over two or three sessions:

1. Confirm string 4 is tuned to G4 (not G3) before every session this week.
2. Play Route A three times cleanly, listening for the sequential cutoffs.
3. Play Route B three times cleanly, confirming that strings 2 and 4 ring after you move on.
4. Play the full campanella bar with the count, stopping all three strings together on beat 4.
5. Play both versions of the two-bar phrase and notice the difference.

Keep the tempo slow — around 60 bpm — until Route B is clean. Speed will come naturally; the clean hand position is harder to acquire once a bad habit is established.

A teacher can watch your right-hand stroke in real time, correct any unintended string touching, and give you the beat 4 release cue so the full-chord ending lands together. If you are working alone, record yourself and listen back with the playback slowed down. The moment a ringing string goes silent before it should is easier to hear than to feel while playing.

One helpful check: after plucking string 4 on beat 2, pause with your hand away from the strings and listen for two seconds. You should hear both E4 and G4 ringing together. If only G4 is audible, string 2 was dampened by your right hand during the stroke. Identify which part of your hand made contact and adjust the stroke path slightly. The same check applies after plucking string 1: at that point all three strings should ring freely until you touch them to stop.

If you find the campanella bar difficult to coordinate at first, break it into two steps. In step one, just play the three notes as regular quarter notes at a comfortable tempo without worrying about overlap — that is the Route B timing without the sustain goal. In step two, slow down further and focus on one transition at a time: beat 1 to beat 2 first, then add beat 3. Once each transition is clean on its own, put all three together at the slower tempo, then gradually increase speed.

Free Worksheets for This Lesson

• One Melody, Three Ringing Strings — Lays out both string routes side by side with a duration table showing how long each open string rings in the campanella bar (Handout 480)
• Keep the Earlier Note Ringing — Multi-bar exercise choosing between Route A and Route B note by note (Exercise 184)
• The Staff and the Treble Clef — Review where E4, G4, and A4 sit on the five-line staff
• Ties vs Slurs — Understand how held durations are written in multi-voice notation
• The Rests — Read the rests that appear in the voice lines of the campanella bar

Sources

• Campanella on the Ukulele — I Love Classical Ukulele (Sam Muir, 2023)
• A Campanella Lesson — ukulelego.com (Dave)
• High G vs. Low G: Which Should You Use? — Ukulele Tricks
• Tissimo Worksheet: The Staff and the Treble Clef
• Tissimo Worksheet: Ties vs Slurs
• Tissimo Worksheet: The Rests