8 August 2025
- Cases & Gigbags • protect that ukulele from nicks and dings.
- Instrument Cables • a good instrument cable really does make a difference.
- Capos • open position chord in other keys.
- Electronic Tuners • Electronic tuners come in two varieties: LED and Strobe..
- Effects Pedals
- Recording Your Ukulele
- Music Notation & Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Software
- Direct Boxes
- Pre Amps & Pickups
- Acoustic Amplifiers - These are amplifiers specifically optimize for acoustic instruments
ANY tuning is possible on a ukulele as long as the ukulele's construction supports the required string tension and a string is available . The manufacture or the builder of the ukulele would or should have this string tension information. The string manufacture typically has the tension information for their strings on their respective web sites.
There are three common tunings in popular use today, C, D and G tuning — with C tuning being the most popular.
If coming from the guitar world where the strings, tuned low to high, is often called a linear tuning. An instrument like the ukulele with a higher pitched string four is called a re-entrant tuning where the lowest note of the instrument might not be the lowest string. This can seem a little strange at first. The re-entrant tuning, places all the notes of a chord within one octave, is part of the unique ukulele sound. This tuning is especially common for the smaller soprano and concert ukuleles.
Tuning is one of the aspects of the ukulele that gives it its charm. Or, it's a plot by builders and manufacture to have you buy more ukuleles.
Here is a great article on tuning systems by Richard Sleigh.
Check out Richard Sleigh's • War of the Musical Worlds! (Equal Temperament vs. Just Intonation) about these two tunings. This is the best explanation I've read on the difference and why you might want one vs. the other.
C Tuning - For Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukulele. The same as the higher four strings of a standard tuned guitar with a capo at the fifth fret with string four "G" one octave higher.
For setting up music notation programs like Finale and Sibelius this tuning is:
MIDI: G = G3, C = C4, E = E4, A = A4
C4 is middle C.
For tweaking EQ in performance situations:
Frequency: G4 = 392.0 Hz, C4 = 261.6 Hz, E4 = 329.6 Hz, A4 = 440.0 Hz
C4 is middle C.
Low 'G', C Tuning - For Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukulele. Same as Key of "C" Tuning but with string four one octave lower. This is the same as placing a capo at the fifth fret of a standard tuned guitar.
For setting up music notation programs like Finale and Sibelius this tuning is:
MIDI: G = G3, C = C4, E = E4, A = A4
C4 is middle C.
For tweaking EQ in performance situations:
Frequency: G4 = 196.0 Hz, The rest is the same as the High "G" - C Tuning, C4 = 261.6 Hz, E4 = 329.6 Hz, A4 = 440.0 Hz
C4 is middle C.
Key of "G" Tuning - For Baritone and Tenor ukulele. The same as the higher four strings of a standard tuned guitar. So you already know how to play the Baritone and Tenor Ukulele.
MIDI: D = D3, G = G4, B = B4, E = E5
C4 is middle C.
MIDI: D = D4, G = G4, B = B4, E = E5
C4 is middle C.
C Tuning - For Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukulele. The same as the higher four strings of a standard tuned guitar with a capo at the fifth fret with string four "G" one octave higher.
For setting up music notation programs like Finale and Sibelius this tuning is:
MIDI: G = G3, C = C4, E = E4, A = A4
C4 is middle C.
For tweaking EQ in performance situations:
Frequency: G4 = 392.0 Hz, C4 = 261.6 Hz, E4 = 329.6 Hz, A4 = 440.0 Hz
C4 is middle C.
Low 'G', C Tuning - For Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukulele. Same as Key of "C" Tuning but with string four one octave lower. This is the same as placing a capo at the fifth fret of a standard tuned guitar.
For setting up music notation programs like Finale and Sibelius this tuning is:
MIDI: G = G3, C = C4, E = E4, A = A4
C4 is middle C.
For tweaking EQ in performance situations:
Frequency: G4 = 196.0 Hz, The rest is the same as the High "G" - C Tuning, C4 = 261.6 Hz, E4 = 329.6 Hz, A4 = 440.0 Hz
C4 is middle C.
- Soprano - A D F# B
- Concert (Alto) - G C E A
- Tenor - F Bb D G
- Baritone - Eb Ab C F
For more information on Byron Yasui • Byron Yasui's LearningUkulele.com Musician Listing .
- Soprano - A D F# B
- Concert (Alto) - G C E A
- Tenor - E A C# F#
- Baritone - D G B E
For more information on Joel Eckhaus • Joel Eckhaus's LearningUkulele.com Musician Listing .
BEBEBaritone Tuning::
- Baritone - B E B E
James has been using this tuning for awhile. It's a great Drone
like tuning.
For more information on James Hill • James Hill's LearningUkulele.com Musician Listing .
Tune string one down a whole step and you have a Banjo like tuning.
- Mandolin — The standard mandolin tuning is G D A E. Aquila has a set of strings available to tune your ukulele like a mandolin.
NOTE • Any Runing Is Possible on a ukulele as long as the ukulele's construction supports it and a string is available. The support part is the combined string tension on the ukulele's construction. All strings manufactures have the individual string tensions available. Remember the the strings length, the scale length of the instruments the tensions as well as the tuning.
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