GCEA — with the famous twist
Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles all tune to G4–C4–E4–A4, and the first surprise for every new player is that the strings don’t run low to high. The G string nearest your face is tuned above the C next to it — reentrant tuning, the source of the ukulele’s bouncy, no-bass sparkle. The lowest note on the instrument is actually the third string, middle C.
- G44th string · reentrant — higher than its neighbor!392.00 Hz
- C43rd string · lowest pitch261.63 Hz
- E42nd string329.63 Hz
- A41st string · highest pitch440.00 Hz
Note the highlighted G4 — it sits HIGHER than the C beside it. If your G string sounds deep and guitar-like, it’s an octave low.
Tuning your uke with the microphone
- Start the tuner above, hold the uke close to the mic, and pluck one string at a time over the soundhole.
- Letter first, then octave, then needle. For the G string the dial should read G4 — if it says G3, you’re a full octave low (fine for “low-G” players, wrong for standard reentrant).
- Turn the pegs in small moves and approach from below. Ukulele strings are short, so a little peg goes a long way — overshooting and winding down leaves the string slipping flat mid-song.
- Second pass, always. Four strings on a light body pull on each other noticeably; the C string in particular tends to sag slightly after you tune the A.
Baritone, low-G and beyond
A baritone ukulele is its own animal: bigger, deeper, and tuned D3–G3–B3–E4 — identical to a guitar’s top four strings, with no reentrant surprise. Low-G tuning keeps GCEA letters but drops the 4th string to G3, trading sparkle for warmth and extra melodic range. The chromatic dial handles all of them — set the target, center the needle. For a deeper walkthrough including how the ukulele compares to violin tuning, see our ukulele & violin tuning guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why won't my ukulele stay in tune?
Nine times out of ten: new strings still stretching (see above). The tenth time it’s friction pegs slipping — if your uke has pegs that pass straight through the headstock with a small screw in the end, tighten that screw a quarter turn. Geared tuners barely slip at all.
My tuner reads the C string as B or C♯. What's going on?
Nothing sinister — you’re just more than a half-semitone off, so the chromatic tuner names the nearest note, which isn’t the one you want yet. Keep tuning toward C: the letter will flip to C and then the needle becomes your fine guide. This letter-first, needle-second reading habit is worth building — it works on every instrument.
Are soprano, concert and tenor tuned differently?
No — all three share GCEA at the same octaves. They differ in size, scale length and tone, not tuning. Only the baritone (DGBE) and the rare sopranino break the pattern.