How to Tune a Ukulele

by Frederik Nielsen, Apr 10, 2019 . 3 min read

How to Tune a Ukulele

Ukuleles are fun. If you haven’t discovered the magical world of ukes, then check out our comprehensive guide to ukuleles first. We’re going to have a look at the different ways you can get your out of tune uke in tune — check it out below!

#1: How to Tune A Ukulele With Roadie 2

This is by far the fastest and easiest way to get the job done, so we’re going to cover this method first. The Roadie 3 will already come with a range of tuning presets, including for the ukulele. Select the one you want, place the Roadie 2 on the tuning peg, and boom. Ukulele tuning sorted. You can watch David Campbell do it here in one minute:

#2: How to Tune A Ukulele With An App

There are an abundance of tuning apps for ukuleles, some of them included in regular guitar tuning apps. The basic features will be free, but they usually charge you for the bells and whistles. (Hint: Don’t pay for advanced features –l just get the Roadie Tuner app here: iOs & Android). Check out a couple of the most popular ones here:

#3: How to Tune A Ukulele With A Piano

If you have a piano or keyboard nearby you can also tune your ukulele that way. G4, C4, E4, A4 is standard ukulele tuning. Find the C4 key (middle C) on your piano and tune your strings to the middle C, and then the E, A, and G keys above the middle C. You can see how to do it in this video:

#4: How to Tune A Ukulele With A Pitch Pipe

If you don’t have a piano but have a good ear, a pitch pipe will do the job as well. A pitch pipe is a mini harmonica that will play one note at a time. Start with the middle C, and then tune the rest of the strings to the first string. HowCast made a video showing you how to do it here:

#5: How to Tune A Ukulele With Relative Tuning

Relative tuning is good if you don’t have any of the above tools at hand. Try getting the C string as much in tune as possible by using your good ol’ ears. Then match the E string to that, then in turn the A string to the E string, and the G to the A. Watch it in action below:

Since you’re here…

Are you learning the uke? If yes, then we’ve got the perfect app for you. Check out  Roadie Coach; available on IOS and Android. This free app is the best way to learn and master the ukelele! It will listen to you play and coach you through learning your favorite songs on the uke. Strum patterns, chords and more! Download it now on IOS and Android.



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