Ukulele Tuning Tips: How to Tune a Ukulele Regardless of Your Type of Uke

Here you'll learn some helpful tips on ukulele tuning - one for the Soprano, Concert and Tenor ukulele and the other for the Baritone ukulele. And if you have one of the 6 or 8 string tenor ukuleles you'll find tips on how to tune your ukulele too!

The easiest way to tune a ukulele?

Purchase one of the best ukulele tuners, a chromatic tuner. For me personally, it’s the easiest, fastest and most inexpensive way to tune any stringed instrument. Just turn the tuner on and pick the string!
You'll be surprised... I’m still using my original KORG Digital Chromatic Tuner I purchased when I was just 14 years old!! It’s still ticking!!

Isn't this amazing?

How to Tune a Soprano, Concert or Tenor Ukelele

The basic 4 string ukulele consists of a G, C, E, A tuning. This is the standard tuning for all 4 stringed ukuleles - Soprano, Concert and Tenor Ukuleles.

What do you need? A handy ukulele tuner.

Baritone Ukulele Tuning

On the other hand, if you need to tune a baritone ukulele, that's a different story. It’s like tuning the last 4 strings of a standard guitar. It consists of a D, G, B, E tuning.

Tuning a 6 String Ukulele

When you want to tune a 6 string uke, keep in mind that tuning it has the basic G, C, E, A tuning, with two additional strings. The two additional strings are paired with the C & A string. The additional “A” string is tuned to the same octave (sound pitch) as the other "A" string. The additional "C" string is either tuned an octave up or down. The string line up will be like this G, C, C, E, A, A.

It might sound complicated, but the truth is that it's really simple.

Tuning a 8 String Ukulele

We're almost done...

Tuning a 8 string ukulele is similar to tuning a 6 string uke. It still consists of the basic G, C, E, A tuning, except each string is now paired together with another one. The additional "G" string is tuned either an octave up or down. The additional "C" string is tuned either an octave up or down. The additional "E" string is tuned in the same octave as well as the "A" string. The string line up will be like this G, G, C, C, E, E, A, A.

And there you have it. Ukulele tuning doesn't require a PhD... just go ahead and try it and you'll see how easy it is!

Whether you're a beginner or a pro, if you're in the market for a ukulele or ukulele music books, I strongly recommend you check out my own new ukulele store right here, or you can check out the only other online music store you should ever need, Musician's Friend.

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