Free · Microphone or by ear

Ukulele Tuner

Tune your ukulele online in under a minute. This free ukulele tuner listens through your microphone, works out which string you played and shows how far it is from G, C, E or A. You can also tap any string to hear its note and tune by ear. It covers soprano, concert and tenor ukes in standard tuning, plus low-G, baritone and D tuning, and nothing needs installing.

  • 4tunings
  • ±1cent precision
  • 0downloads
Start tuning

Tune Your Ukulele Online

Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone. Pluck one open string and let it ring. Turn the peg until the needle sits in the green and the string shows a tick.

Reference pitch
A4 = 440 Hz
—
 

Tap Start tuner, allow the microphone, then play one string.

 

Ukulele Notes on the Fretboard

Every note from the open string to the 12th fret, in the tuning you chose. When the tuner hears a note, it lights up wherever you can play it, so you can find the note for a fretted note you're checking.

Ukulele fretboard notes, 1st string at the top, frets 0–12 (Standard (high G))
0123456789101112
A4 A4A#4B4C5C#5D5D#5E5F5F#5G5G#5A5
E4 E4F4F#4G4G#4A4A#4B4C5C#5D5D#5E5
C4 C4C#4D4D#4E4F4F#4G4G#4A4A#4B4C5
G4 G4G#4A4A#4B4C5C#5D5D#5E5F5F#5G5

Teaching? Put this ukulele tuner on your class site, free. Get the embed code

Advertisement

Standard Ukulele Tuning: G C E A

Hold the uke to play. The string nearest your face is the 4th string, G. Then come C, E and A, which is the 1st string, nearest the floor. In standard tuning the G is higher than the C beside it. This is called re-entrant tuning, and it's why the strings aren't in order from low to high.

Standard (high G): G C E A

The tuning of nearly every soprano, concert and tenor ukulele. The G string is tuned high, above the C, which gives the uke its bright, close-voiced strum. Remember it as “My Dog Has Fleas”.

4th string
G4 · 392.00 Hz
3rd string
C4 · 261.63 Hz
2nd string
E4 · 329.63 Hz
1st string
A4 · 440.00 Hz

Other tunings in the tuner

  • Low G (G3 C4 E4 A4) The same notes, but the G string drops an octave below the C, giving five extra low notes. Popular on tenor ukuleles for fingerstyle and jazz. It needs a thicker, often wound, G string.
  • Baritone (D3 G3 B3 E4) The baritone uke is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, low to high. Chord shapes are the same as standard tuning, but every chord comes out a fourth lower.
  • D tuning (A4 D4 F#4 B4) Every string a whole step above standard. Many older songbooks are written for it, and it makes a soprano sound brighter still.

How to Tune a Ukulele with This Tuner

Five steps, about a minute. The tuner works out which string you played, so you can tune in any order. We still suggest the order below.

  1. Choose your tuning

    Leave it on Standard for soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles. Switch to Low G if your G string is thick and sounds lower than the C, or to Baritone for a baritone uke.

  2. Start the tuner

    Tap Start tuner and allow microphone access when your browser asks. On a phone, hold the uke 20–30 cm (8–12 in) from the bottom of the phone. That's where the microphone is.

  3. Pluck the A string first

    Pluck the 1st string (A) once with your thumb and let it ring. If the needle leans left and the screen says Tune up, tighten the peg a little. If it says Tune down, loosen it.

  4. Tune from below

    If a string is sharp, loosen it until it's a little flat, then bring it up to pitch. Tuning up to a note seats the string on the peg, so it holds pitch longer.

  5. Do E, C and G, then check again

    Tune the other three strings the same way. Each one gets a tick once it has stayed in the green for a moment. Then strum a C chord (ring finger on the 3rd fret of the A string) and check every string once more, because tightening one string pulls the neck slightly.

How to Tune a Ukulele Without a Tuner

No microphone, or a noisy room? Tap a string above to hear its note, or tune the uke to itself. Tune one string with the tone, then use frets to match the others.

  1. Tune the C string to the tone

    Tap the C string above and tune your 3rd string until the two sound like one note. When they're close, you'll hear a slow wobble, called beating. The wobble stops when the string is in tune.

  2. Match E from the 4th fret of C

    Press the C string at the 4th fret. That note is E. Pluck it, then pluck the open 2nd string and tune the E string until they match.

  3. Match A from the 5th fret of E

    Press the E string at the 5th fret, which is A, and tune the open 1st string to it.

  4. Match G from the 3rd fret of E

    Press the E string at the 3rd fret, which is G, and tune the open 4th string to it. With a low-G string, the open string sounds an octave below the fretted note. That's correct.

What This Uke Tuner Does

Most online uke tuners give you a needle and four notes. This one adds the parts that make tuning faster.

Hears which string you played

Auto string detection picks G, C, E or A from the note you pluck. It still picks the right string when the string is nearly a semitone flat, which is common with new strings.

Start tuning

  • Needle, cents and hertz

    The needle shows how far off the string is, and the readout gives the exact cents and both frequencies. Five cents either side counts as in tune, which is about what a trained ear can hear.

  • A tick when a string holds

    Each string is marked tuned only after it stays in the green for most of a second. You can see which strings are done without checking them again.

  • Four ukulele tunings

    Standard high-G, low-G, baritone D G B E and D tuning A D F# B. The strings, the note map and the reference tones all change with the tuning you pick.

  • String tones that repeat

    Tap a string to hear its target note as a plucked string. Turn on Repeat and the note plays again every two seconds, so both hands stay on the peg.

  • Adjustable reference A

    Leave it at A = 440 Hz, or move it between 415 and 466 Hz to match a piano, a recording or a band that tunes differently. Your choice is remembered.

  • Live fretboard note map

    The chart under the tuner shows every note to the 12th fret and lights up the note you're playing.

When the Tuner Won't Cooperate

The needle jumps around

Pluck one string at a time and mute the others with your palm. Pluck with the soft part of your thumb, not a fingernail. The tuner reads a smooth, ringing note best, and it settles about half a second after the attack.

It shows the wrong string

A string that's very far out of tune can be closer to its neighbour's note. Turn off Auto-detect string and tap the string you're tuning to lock the tuner to it. Then bring it up or down until the needle comes back to the centre.

New strings won't stay in tune

Nylon and fluorocarbon uke strings stretch for several days. Tune up, gently pull each string away from the fretboard along its length, and tune again. Expect to retune often for the first week.

In tune but chords sound off

Check the 12th fret. The fretted note should read the same as the open string. If it's sharp, press more lightly. If it's still off, the uke may need a setup (saddle or nut work), which a tuner cannot fix.

Nothing happens on iPhone

In Safari, tap the aA (or page settings) icon, open Website Settings and set Microphone to Allow. Make sure no other app is using the microphone, then tap Start tuner again.

Free, in Your Browser

  • Nothing to install Runs in Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox on a phone, tablet or computer. No app, no plugin.
  • Sound stays on your device The microphone is analysed in your browser. No audio is recorded, uploaded or stored.
  • No account No sign-up and no limits. Open the page and tune.
  • Works without a mic Tune by ear with the string tones and the fret-matching method if the microphone is blocked.

Ukulele Tuning Questions

What are the notes of a ukulele's strings?

In standard tuning the four strings are G, C, E and A (G4, C4, E4, A4). They run from the string nearest your face to the one nearest the floor. A common way to remember them is “My Dog Has Fleas”.

Why is the G string higher than the C string?

Standard ukulele tuning is re-entrant: the 4th string (G) is tuned above the 3rd string (C) instead of below it. That keeps every string within an octave and a bit, and it gives the ukulele its bright, close-voiced strum. Low-G tuning puts the G an octave lower, so the strings go in order from low to high.

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

Yes. All three use G C E A in standard tuning. Tenor ukuleles are more often strung with a low G. The baritone is the exception: it's tuned D G B E, like the top four strings of a guitar.

How do I tune a baritone ukulele?

Choose Baritone in the tuning menu. The strings, from the one nearest your face, are D3, G3, B3 and E4. The tuner listens lower in this mode, so the D and G strings read reliably.

How do I tune a ukulele without a tuner?

Tune one string to a reference note, then tune the uke to itself. The C string at the 4th fret matches the open E. The E string at the 5th fret matches the open A. The E string at the 3rd fret matches the open G. The By ear section above walks through it, and the string tones on this page give you the first note.

Why does my ukulele keep going out of tune?

Usually new strings. Nylon and fluorocarbon stretch for days after you fit them. Temperature and humidity changes move the pitch too, and so do worn friction pegs. Stretch new strings gently, tune up to each note from below, and tighten the screw on friction pegs if they slip.

Can I use this tuner for a bass ukulele?

A bass ukulele is tuned E A D G, an octave below the top four strings of a guitar, the same notes as a bass guitar. Use the bass tuner, which listens down to the low E.

Is A = 440 Hz right for my ukulele?

Almost always. 440 Hz is the standard reference pitch. Change it only to play along with a piano, a recording or a group tuned slightly differently. The control above the tuner moves A between 415 and 466 Hz, one hertz at a time.

Tuners for Other Instruments

Keep Practicing