How to tune a ukulele

Standard ukulele tuning: G C E A

Hold the ukulele as you play it. From the string closest to your face (4th) to the one closest to the floor (1st), the notes are G C E A. A popular way to remember them is the song line “Good Cats Eat Anything” — or the classic “My Dog Has Fleas”, which sings the four strings in order.

Re-entrant tuning: why the G is high

In standard (“high-G” or re-entrant) tuning, the G string sits above middle C, so the lowest note on the instrument is the C on the 3rd string. That gives the ukulele its bright, close-voiced sound and is what almost all chord charts and songbooks assume.

Low-G tuning

Many tenor players use low G: the 4th string is tuned an octave down to G3 (196.00 Hz). You gain a fuller bass range and can play melodies that go below middle C. It needs a thicker (often wound) 4th string — tightening a high-G string to G3 isn’t possible, and loosening it that far makes it floppy. Chord shapes stay the same.

Baritone ukulele: D G B E

The baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar: D G B E (D3 G3 B3 E4). Shapes are guitar shapes, so a “G-shape” chord on a baritone is a G, but the same shape on a soprano is a C.

How to tune a ukulele with a tuner

1. Open a chromatic tuner — clip-on, app, or the free online ukulele tuner.
2. Pluck the 4th string (G) with your thumb or finger and let it ring.
3. Watch the display. Left of centre is flat: tighten the peg. Right is sharp: loosen it.
4. Tune the C, E and A strings the same way.
5. Check all four strings again, then strum a C chord (just the 3rd fret of the A string) — it should ring sweetly.

Mind the octave on the G. If you have a low-G string, the tuner will show G3; with high G it shows G4. Both read as “G” on most tuners, so make sure you’re not tightening a high-G string toward the wrong octave.

How to tune a ukulele by ear

If one string is correct (use the A from a tuning fork, a piano or a reference tone):

1. Press the E string at the 5th fret: that’s A. Tune the open A string to it (or, if A is your reference, tune E so that this matches).
2. Press the C string at the 4th fret: that’s E. Tune the open E string to it.
3. Press the G string at the 2nd fret: that’s A. With high G, this should match the open A string exactly. With low G, it’s an octave below.

Listen for the slow wobble (“beating”) between the two notes and turn the peg until it stops. It’s the same skill guitar players use — see how to tune a guitar for more on beating and harmonics.

New strings: the ukulele’s biggest tuning problem

Nylon and fluorocarbon strings stretch far more than steel. A freshly strung ukulele can drop a full semitone in an hour. To get it stable faster:

1. Tune every string up to pitch.
2. Pull each string gently away from the fretboard along its length, a few centimetres, several times.
3. Retune. Repeat three or four times.
4. Expect small retunes for the next day or two — that’s normal.

Some players deliberately tune a semitone sharp overnight on new strings so they settle faster. Don’t go further than that on a soprano, which has light construction.

Tuning reference for other ukulele types

Why your ukulele sounds out of tune

• Pressing too hard. Thin nylon strings bend sharp easily. Press just enough for a clean note, right behind the fret.
• Cheap or worn strings. Strings that don’t intonate make chords sound off even when open strings are in tune. Replace them every few months if you play daily.
• Humidity. Solid-wood ukuleles move with the weather. Tune before every session.
• Friction tuners. Some sopranos use friction pegs that slip; tighten the screw at the end of the peg slightly.

Check your tuning with chords

Open strings can all read “in tune” and a chord can still sound slightly off if one string is a few cents away. Three chords make an excellent final check because together they use every string in different combinations:

If C and Am sound sweet but G sounds sharp, the problem isn’t the tuning — it’s finger pressure or high action at the nut. Relax your fretting hand and play again before touching the pegs.

Tuning before you play with others

When you play with a guitarist or a pianist, tune to the same reference (A4 = 440 Hz unless told otherwise) and tune after the instrument has warmed up in the room. In a group of ukuleles, have everyone tune to one tuner or to one player’s A string — small differences between tuners add up across a circle of players.

Next steps

With your ukulele in tune, learn a few chord shapes and strum them along with a metronome at a slow tempo, around 70–80 BPM. Ukulele chords are smaller versions of guitar chords — many of the ideas in beginner guitar chords and changing chords faster apply directly.