Ukulele Tuner
Tune your ukulele by microphone or by ear for standard GCEA, including the reentrant high-G that gives the instrument its sound.
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The first string is not the lowest one
Standard ukulele tuning is G4 C4 E4 A4, running from the string nearest your face to the one nearest the floor. Sorted by pitch that is C4 E4 G4 A4 — the G sits a fifth above the C and a minor third above the E it is strung beside. Every other common stringed instrument runs low to high:
| Instrument | Tuning | Ascending? | Open-string compass |
|---|---|---|---|
| ukulele | G4 C4 E4 A4 | no | 9 semitones |
| low-G ukulele | G3 C4 E4 A4 | yes | 14 semitones |
| guitar | E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | yes | 24 semitones |
| bass | E1 A1 D2 G2 | yes | 15 semitones |
This is called re-entrant tuning, and it is a large part of why a ukulele sounds like a ukulele. Strumming downward does not sweep from low to high, so a chord arrives as a cluster rather than a rising arpeggio. It is also why the four buttons above are not in pitch order: they are in string order, which is what you need when you are looking at the instrument.
All four strings fit inside nine semitones
Less than an octave from the lowest open string to the highest. Over twelve frets that leaves a great deal of overlap — the same pitch turns up in several places:
| Instrument | Positions | Distinct pitches | Redundant | Most ways to play one note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ukulele | 52 | 22 | 57.7% | 4 |
| low-G ukulele | 52 | 27 | 48.1% | 3 |
| guitar | 78 | 37 | 52.6% | 3 |
| bass | 52 | 28 | 46.2% | 3 |
Read that last column as a share of the strings. Four ways to play a note on a four-string instrument means it is reachable on every string at once, which nothing else here manages — the guitar's best is three strings out of six, and it has twelve more positions to work with. On a standard ukulele these notes are available across the whole instrument:
| Note | Fingerings |
|---|---|
| A4 | G4+2, C4+9, E4+5, A4+0 |
| A#4 | G4+3, C4+10, E4+6, A4+1 |
| B4 | G4+4, C4+11, E4+7, A4+2 |
| C5 | G4+5, C4+12, E4+8, A4+3 |
Note the control in that table: the bass has exactly the same 52 positions as the ukulele and far less overlap, so what drives the redundancy is the narrow compass rather than having four strings. Re-tuning to low G — dropping that first string an octave — widens the compass to 14 semitones and takes the redundancy down to 48.1%.
Which is what campanella playing is built on
If consecutive notes of a scale sit on different strings, each one can keep ringing while the next is played, and a run turns into something closer to a harp. Working up a C major scale and taking a different string each time wherever one is available:
| Note | Played at |
|---|---|
| C4 | C4+0 |
| D4 | C4+2 |
| E4 | E4+0 |
| F4 | C4+5 |
| G4 | G4+0 |
| A4 | C4+9 |
| B4 | G4+4 |
| C5 | C4+12 |
7 of the 8 notes land on a string other than the one before them. It would be neat to finish by saying the ukulele is uniquely suited to this, and it is not true: running the same scale on a guitar places 8 of 8, because six strings across two octaves simply offer more places to put the next note. What is unusual about the ukulele is the density — every string within reach of the same note — rather than the total number of options.
How to use
- Allow microphone access, or use the reference tones.
- Tune each string, always finishing by tuning up to pitch.
- Retune after the first pass — new strings drift badly.
- Check the fourth string is high G unless you use low G.
Frequently asked questions
What is standard ukulele tuning?
G, C, E and A, with the G conventionally tuned above the C rather than below it. That reentrant arrangement means the strings do not run low to high across the instrument, which is what gives the ukulele its bright, chiming character.
What is the difference between high G and low G?
High G is the traditional reentrant tuning and produces the classic sound. Low G replaces the fourth string with a thicker wound string an octave down, extending the range downward and making the instrument behave more like a small guitar. Both are legitimate and they sound quite different.
Why will my new strings not stay in tune?
Because nylon and fluorocarbon strings stretch substantially when new, far more than steel. A new set can take several days of playing and repeated retuning before it settles, and that is normal rather than a fault with the instrument.
Should I always tune up to the note?
Yes. Tuning up takes the slack out of the tuning mechanism and seats the string properly; tuning down leaves it loose and the string tends to drift sharp again as it settles. Overshooting slightly and coming back up is the standard technique.
Does the size of the ukulele change the tuning?
Soprano, concert and tenor all use GCEA at different scale lengths. The baritone is different — it is tuned DGBE, exactly like the top four strings of a guitar, which makes it a genuinely different instrument to chord on rather than a larger version of the same one.
Why does my ukulele sound out of tune up the neck?
Intonation, usually from the saddle position or from very old strings. Ukuleles are also short-scale instruments, so pressing a little too hard bends the note sharp noticeably more than on a guitar — a light touch helps more than people expect.
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