Standard ukulele tuning: G C E A notes and Hz

Notes and frequencies

Frequencies are equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz, rounded to two decimals.

Tune with a tuner

1. Tune in a quiet place and play one open string at a time; let it ring rather than plucking repeatedly.
2. A chromatic tuner shows the nearest note and how far off it is in cents (hundredths of a semitone). Find the note in the table above for that string.
3. If the note is too low (flat), tighten the string slowly. If it is too high (sharp), loosen it a little below the target and then tighten up to it: approaching from below keeps the string from slipping.
4. Go through every string, then check them all once more: tuning one string changes the tension on the ukulele neck a little.
5. The Sowlea App’s tuner is free; it marks a string as in tune when it stays within ±2 cents. This website itself has no microphone tuner.

Check by ear

1. Tune the A string (string 1) first. In each pair below, leave the fretted string alone and turn the peg of the open string.
2. Press the E string (string 2) at fret 5: it should match the open A string.
3. Press the C string (string 3) at fret 4: it should match the open E string.
4. Press the C string at fret 7: it gives G, which should match the open G string (string 4) — the same note, because the G string is the high G.

Low-G tuning

Some players replace the high G with a thicker string tuned an octave lower, G3 (196.00 Hz), for a fuller low end. The rest of the strings stay C4 E4 A4. With low G, the C string at fret 7 sounds one octave above the open G string.

Further reading

• Wikipedia: Ukulele (tuning)
• Wikipedia: Standard tuning
• Wikipedia: Equal temperament
• Wikipedia: Scientific pitch notation