How to Tune a Uke With an Online Ukulele Tuner

To tune a ukulele with an online ukulele tuner, open the Guitar Tuner, click Ukulele, press Start tuner, and pluck one string at a time, turning its peg until the note turns green. Standard tuning is G, C, E, A, starting from the string nearest your chin. Go round twice, and it takes a minute or two.

The basic routine is the same as for a guitar, which How to Tune a Guitar With an Online Tuner covers in detail. What's different on a uke: its tuning doesn't run low to high, it comes in high-G and low-G versions, and on a low-G uke one tuner setting gives the wrong advice.

What you'll need

• A soprano, concert, or tenor ukulele. A baritone works too, but it uses different notes (see below).
• A phone, tablet, or laptop with a microphone.
• A reasonably quiet room.

There's nothing to install and no account. Your browser asks for microphone permission once. The pitch is worked out live in the browser, so your audio never leaves your device, and nothing is recorded.

Standard ukulele tuning: G C E A

Soprano, concert, and tenor ukuleles share one standard tuning: G, C, E, A, from the 4th string (nearest your chin as you play) to the 1st (nearest the floor). The old mnemonic is "My Dog Has Fleas".

String	High-G (standard)	Low-G
4th (nearest your chin)	G4, 392.00 Hz	G3, 196.00 Hz
3rd	C4, 261.63 Hz	C4, 261.63 Hz
2nd	E4, 329.63 Hz	E4, 329.63 Hz
1st (nearest the floor)	A4, 440.00 Hz	A4, 440.00 Hz

The frequencies assume A4 = 440 Hz. In Ukulele mode, the tool's string buttons show G4, C4, E4 and A4, with frequencies rounded to one decimal place: 392.0, 261.6, 329.6 and 440.0.

Why ukulele tuning is "re-entrant"

Look at the high-G column. The 4th string, G4, isn't the lowest note. It sits between E4 and A4, so the tuning dips down from G to C, then climbs back up. That's what "re-entrant" means. The lowest open note on a standard uke is the C on the 3rd string.

The high G is a big part of why a strummed uke sounds bright, and it's why the guitar habit of tuning low to high doesn't apply.

How to use an online tuner for ukulele, string by string

1. Click "Ukulele". Guitar is selected by default, and in that mode the tuner is looking for guitar strings. Ukulele mode knows only G4, C4, E4 and A4.
2. Leave "A4 =" at 440 Hz unless you're matching an instrument tuned to something else.
3. Press the amber "Start tuner" button and allow the microphone. The hint reads "Listening… pluck a single string and let it ring".
4. Pluck the 4th string (G) on its own. The readout shows the nearest string's note, with a line under it such as "392.0 Hz · -9 cents".
5. Follow the hint. "Too low — tune up" means tighten. "Too high — tune down" means loosen. If the string is sharp, loosen it a little below the note and come back up, so the peg holds. The hub guide explains why you tune up to pitch.
6. Stop when it goes green. The note and needle turn green and the hint reads "In tune" once you're within 5 cents. The matching button in the row labelled "Strings — tap to hear the reference note" lights up too.
7. Do C, E and A the same way, then go round again. Retuning one string nudges the others slightly.
8. Press "Stop tuner" to release the microphone.

The meter runs from −50 to +50 cents. A cent is one hundredth of a semitone, and the guide to semitones and cents has the background. Left of centre is flat, right is sharp, green is done.

High-G or low-G: switch to Chromatic for low-G

A low-G uke drops the 4th string an octave, to G3 at 196.00 Hz, for a fuller, deeper sound. It needs a different, thicker string, often wound. A high-G string tuned down an octave would flop, and a low-G string shouldn't be tuned up one.

If your uke is low-G, don't tune the 4th string in Ukulele mode. In an instrument preset, the tuner snaps every reading to the nearest open string of that preset. G3 is five semitones below C4 and a full octave below G4, so a perfectly tuned low-G string snaps to C4 and reads as far too low. The hint says "Far too low — tighten the string". Follow it, and you'd crank a low-G string up towards C and risk breaking it.

Click Chromatic instead. It shows the semitone the string is actually nearest to, so tune the 4th string until it reads G3, centred and green. The other three strings are the same as high-G, so tune them in either mode. High-G players can stay in Ukulele mode throughout.

Baritone ukulele: use Guitar mode

A baritone uke is tuned D3, G3, B3, E4. Those are the same notes as the four thinnest strings on a guitar, so leave the tuner on Guitar. Its preset is E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4, and your four strings snap to the top four of those. Baritones aren't re-entrant.

Why new ukulele strings keep going flat

Ukulele strings are nylon or fluorocarbon, and they stretch far more than steel. For the first few days, a new set keeps going flat, sometimes within minutes of tuning. This is expected and doesn't mean anything is wrong.

What helps:

• Retune often. Each round, the strings drop a little less.
• Keep playing it. Regular playing and retuning help the strings settle.
• Stretch gently, if you like. Lift each new string a little away from the fretboard, retune, and repeat a few times. Don't yank it.

After anything from a few days to a couple of weeks, most sets hold far better. Temperature and humidity still move tuning, so let a uke that's come in from the cold settle before you tune it.

Pegs matter too. Some cheaper and older ukes have friction pegs, which hold by friction alone and can slip back under tension. If a friction peg keeps slipping, the small screw on its end can usually be tightened a touch.

Check it by ear

The string buttons double as a pitch pipe. In Ukulele mode, tap G4, C4, E4 or A4 to hear that note for about three seconds, or tap again to stop. This works without the microphone. Play the tone, pluck the string, and adjust until the two sound like one note.

You can also check the strings against each other, with the C string as the anchor:

• C string, fret 4 = open E (2nd string)
• E string, fret 5 = open A (1st string)
• C string, fret 7 = open high G (4th string)

On a low-G uke, the C string at fret 7 gives a G one octave above your 4th string. The two notes should blend, an octave apart. As with any relative method, this only tunes the strings to each other. If the C starts flat, the whole uke ends up flat.

Troubleshooting

It shows the wrong string, or the needle is pinned

Ukulele mode snaps to the nearest open string, so a string that's far out can land on its neighbour: a badly slack E can read as C4. (On a low-G uke, see the Chromatic section above.) Switch to Chromatic, get the right note name, then go back to Ukulele for the fine work.

It stays on "Listening…"

The tuner ignores sound too quiet to trust. Hold the uke closer to the mic, pluck a little firmer, and let the note ring. If nothing registers, check that your microphone isn't muted.

It keeps going flat

New strings are still stretching. With old strings, check for slipping pegs, or a uke kept by a heater or cold window.

In tune open, but chords sound off

Press more lightly: squeezing a string too hard against the fret pulls the note sharp. If chords still sound off, switch to Chromatic and compare each open string with the same string fretted at the 12th fret, which should read the same note an octave up with the same cents offset. (Ukulele mode would snap that octave-up note to an open string and misread it.) If it's clearly off, the uke may need a setup.

Related

For a bigger instrument with similar steps, see How to Tune a Bass With an Online Bass Tuner. The "A4 =" field accepts 415 to 466 Hz, and What Is Concert Pitch? A Pitch Changer Guide explains why 440 is the default and when you'd change it. Once you're in tune, keep your strumming steady with the free Metronome. More walkthroughs are in the audio how-to guides.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a guitar tuner for ukulele?

Yes, if it has a ukulele mode or a chromatic mode. A tuner fixed to guitar strings will snap your uke's notes to the wrong strings. The Vocal Cut Guitar Tuner has a Ukulele mode tuned to G4, C4, E4 and A4, and a Chromatic mode that shows whichever note you play. A chromatic tuner works for any ukulele, including low-G and baritone.

What are the notes on a ukulele?

Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles are tuned G, C, E, A, from the 4th string (nearest your chin) to the 1st. In standard high-G tuning, with A4 at 440 Hz, the notes are G4 at 392.00 Hz, C4 at 261.63 Hz, E4 at 329.63 Hz and A4 at 440.00 Hz. Low-G tuning drops the 4th string an octave, to G3 at 196.00 Hz.

Is my ukulele high-G or low-G?

Compare the 4th string with the 3rd. On a high-G uke, the 4th string is usually thinner than the 3rd and its open note sounds higher than the C string. On a low-G uke, the 4th string is the thickest, is often wound, and sounds clearly lower than C. If you're unsure, tune in Chromatic mode and see whether the 4th string sits nearer G4 or G3.

Why does my new ukulele keep going out of tune?

New nylon and fluorocarbon strings stretch a lot, so they keep going flat for the first few days after fitting. Retune every time you play, keep playing, and if you like, gently stretch each string and retune. Most sets settle within a few days to a couple of weeks. Changes in temperature and humidity, and slipping friction pegs on some ukes, also pull the tuning out.

Do soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles use the same tuning?

Yes. All three use standard G C E A tuning, usually with a high G, so the same tuner settings work for each. Any of the three can be strung low-G instead. The baritone is the exception: it's tuned D3, G3, B3, E4, like a guitar's four thinnest strings, so use Guitar or Chromatic mode for it.