Ukulele Tuner
← All toolsStandard ukulele tuning is G4 392.00 Hz, C4 261.63 Hz, E4 329.63 Hz and A4 440.00 Hz, fourth string to first. Read those numbers again and the oddity shows up: the fourth string is not the lowest one. Tap any string in the chart to hear its exact pitch and tune by ear, or allow the microphone for live detection, which names whatever you actually play rather than what the chart expects.
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Ukulele — Standard (GCEA)
| String | Note | Frequency | Reference tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th (high G) | G4 | 392.00 Hz | |
| 3rd | C4 | 261.63 Hz | |
| 2nd | E4 | 329.63 Hz | |
| 1st | A4 | 440.00 Hz |
Tap Tone to hear a string and tune to it by ear — no microphone needed. Auto is on, so the needle below follows whichever string you are nearest.
Live pitch — microphone
Microphone audio is processed on-device and never leaves your browser — and the chart and reference tones above never need it at all.
How to use the Ukulele Tuner
- Tap the third string in the chart, C4 261.63 Hz, and tune that one first — it is the lowest note on the instrument and the easiest anchor to hear against.
- Work outward to E4 329.63 Hz and A4 440.00 Hz, then finish with the fourth string at G4 392.00 Hz, which sits between the two.
- Turn the peg slowly, since a ukulele string is short and a small movement covers a surprising amount of pitch.
- Go round all four strings two or three more times, and expect to keep repeating that for the first week on a new set.
What reentrant tuning does to the sound
Because the fourth string is high rather than low, a strummed chord has no bass note underneath it. Every note lands inside a single octave, which is why a ukulele chord sounds like a cluster rather than a stack — the ear cannot pick out a root at the bottom, so the voicings sit close together and blend.
It also opens up campanella playing. In a scale spread across a reentrant set, consecutive notes fall on different strings and ring into each other rather than stopping when the next one starts, giving a harp-like overlap that a linear instrument cannot produce without careful voicing.
The open strings also spell the tuning phrase everyone learns: G, C, E and A, sung as my dog has fleas. Sorted, those four notes are a C6 chord, which is one more reason idle strumming on a ukulele so rarely sounds wrong.
Nylon strings, friction pegs and holding pitch
Two different failures both get called going out of tune, and they want different fixes. Creep is the string lengthening under load: pitch falls smoothly and evenly, it is worst on a new set, and playing time cures it. Slipping is the tuner giving way: pitch drops suddenly, often mid song, and retuning changes nothing.
If yours is slipping, look at the peg. A friction peg is a tapered shaft held by pressure alone, and the small screw in the button sets that pressure; a quarter turn clockwise is usually enough. Geared tuners do not slip, so on a geared instrument a falling pitch is either creep or a bad winding at the post — two or three neat turns down the shaft, each below the last, is what holds.
Temperature counts too. A ukulele brought from a cold car into a warm room goes sharp as it warms, so let it settle before you bother tuning it.
Standard ukulele tuning
Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles all use the same GCEA pitches; only the scale length and the string gauges change. Note the order: the 4th string is the highest-sounding one, not the lowest.
| Tuning | Strings, low to high | Frequency (Hz, A4 = 440) |
|---|---|---|
| Ukulele — Standard (GCEA) | G4 C4 E4 A4 | 392.00 261.63 329.63 440.00 |
FAQ
- Why is my fourth string higher than my third?
- That is reentrant tuning, and it is standard on a ukulele. The fourth string is G4 392.00 Hz while the third is C4 261.63 Hz, so the set does not climb steadily from one side to the other — it drops, then climbs. Sorted low to high the strings are C4 261.63, E4 329.63, G4 392.00 and A4 440.00 Hz, which means only your first string is higher than your fourth.
- I have fitted a low G. What changes?
- A low G is a wound string sounding an octave below the chart, at G3 196.00 Hz, and it makes the instrument linear: the strings then rise in pitch from fourth to first the way a guitar does. Live detection reports the pitch you actually produce, so it will read G3. Tuning by ear still works — sound the G4 392.00 Hz reference and tune to the octave below it, which locks in cleanly with no beating.
- Why will a new ukulele not stay in tune?
- Nylon and fluorocarbon creep. Under tension the polymer keeps stretching for days rather than minutes, so a fresh set falls in pitch every time you put the instrument down. Retune several times a session and it will stabilise inside about a week. Friction pegs add a second, different cause: if a string gives way suddenly rather than drifting, the peg needs its screw tightened a fraction, not more turning.
- Does the size of the ukulele change the tuning?
- No. Soprano, concert and tenor all use these same GCEA pitches, so this chart covers all three; scale length changes tension and tone, not the notes. A baritone is the exception, tuned D3 146.83 Hz, G3 196.00 Hz, B3 246.94 Hz and E4 329.63 Hz like the top four strings of a guitar, so none of the numbers on this page apply to one.
