Ukulele Tuning Chart
Standard g C E A & other tunings · tap a string for its reference pitch
How to play
- Tap a string card for a clean reference tone; match your string to it by ear until the beating stops. Cards read 4th string (nearest your chin) on the left to 1st string (nearest the floor) on the right.
- Standard ukulele tuning is re-entrant: the 4th-string g is HIGH — higher than the C and E strings. That’s the famous “my dog has fleas” sound. Cards marked high are the re-entrant strings.
- Pick a tuning at the top. Notes that differ from standard are marked in amber with how far they move.
- Play strings sounds all four in order (4th→1st). Vol sets volume. Keyboard: Tab + Enter/Space.
- No tuner? Use the fret method at the bottom: tune your reference string, then fret where shown and match the open target string to that pitch. Tap a step to hear the target.
Tune by ear — the fret method
Tune the reference string first (use the tones above), then match each other open string to a fretted note. Tap a step to hear the target pitch.
Re-entrant tip: because the 4th string is high, it’s checked against a fret on the C or E string, not the string below it.
It tunes your uke using a clean reference tone so that you can tune your instrument quickly. There is also a fret method built into it to help you tune your instrument by ear as well as some presets for different tunings. Just click on the screen directly, or if you want quicker access, you may use keyboard from your computer.
Start with the segmented buttons on top of card to choose a tuning. Standard high G is the default and delivers that familiar bright ukulele tone. Low G offer a deeper linear range. D tuning provide a brighter vintage sound. Baritone DGBE offers a low-end guitar sound. The widget will immediately update descriptions and string notes to reflect your choice.
How to Use the Ukulele Tuning Widget
The strings of the ukulele are shown as cards in the centre of the widget. From left to right they are: 4th (lowest), 3rd, 2nd, 1st (highest). You can see note name, its frequency in Hertz, and whether it is out of tune with standard tuning. The amber labels shows how many semitones each note deviates if it’s not at the correct tuning.
Each one of these strings are represented by a card which when clicked will sound a clear tone for that particular pitch. You can listen out for this and make an adjustment on your tuning pegs allowing for a few seconds to make your change. Keep slowing down as you approach a match. Listen for the beating between your string and reference tone until there is no more beating. This indicates your string are tuned to the reference pitch.
Below the string cards there’s also a Play strings button which will sound out each of the four strings in turn. You’ll notice it sounds the notes on the fourth string downwards through to the first string, so here you get to hear how well everything matches up harmonically. It is a handy fast tune test before you start fine-tuning each string separately.
Below is also the Tune by ear part if you don’t have a pitch pipe or separate tuner. Here it walks you through how to get each of your strings tuned in relation to the other ones based off the position of your fingers. You’ll know which string to use as a reference, and which fret to press on your next string to get the right note for the next open string. Each step tells you which pitch to listen for so you know when to click there.
To the immediate right of the play button there’s a master volume slider. This adjusts loudness of the reference tones. If you find yourself playing in quieter rooms, or you’re sharing the room with other people that want it on a lower volume, it will help. Once set, the volume remain constant across the different notes and tunings.
Clicking on the Fullscreen button (located in the top of the widget’s header) will expand the interface into fullscreen mode, which provides additional screen space for viewing the tuning steps and string cards, without any distractions. This is especially handy when viewing the widget on smaller screens or when you just need to focus on tuning.
The header has a How to play button that provides a brief overview of how to use both the fret method and the string cards. It’s a useful reminder if you’re not familiar with the re-entrant tuning idea or want a quick refresh of how to use the widget.
The widget uses the Tab key to jump from control to control for keyboard users. Buttons and string cards can be triggered with Space or Enter key presses. This is an effective way of getting through the tuning process without having to use a mouse at all. It’s also clearly indicated where the current focus are.
You will notice that the fourth string has a high label on it, which is the way they are tuned for standard ukulele tuning. In fact, ukuleles are commonly described as being re-entrant because the fourth string (G) is above the 2nd and 3rd strings. This gives them their distinctive overlapping range. The widget flags up this point clearly so you don’t accidentally tune your string down to far.
Next time try changing the tunings and hear if it makes any difference on these reference pitches. If you have sheet music in D tuning, change the preset to match that too. It will then step through the fret method adjusting itself to the right intervals for the given tuning. So when playing whatever song you find from sheet music, you can be confident that the fret method is providing the right intervals for your chosen tunning.
For best results use the fret method steps as follows: Begin on the reference string (marked with a dashed border), and work from one string to another, listening out for the desired pitch at every stage. This will help you learn the intervals by ear and over time develop your relative pitch ‘ear’ without any electronic assistance.
It’s aimed at being a fast but reliable way of tuning your ukulele so that it plays correctly. Either by using the interval or the reference audio method, the goal remains the same. Listen well and take as long as you need over each string. When everything is tuned, your playing will sound far more pleasing. It could of been even better if the strings was already in tune.