Soprano, concert or tenor ukulele Tuning Chart
3 tunings for the soprano, concert or tenor ukulele, all measured against standard GCEA, with the target note and the exact frequency in hertz for every string.
| Tuning | Notation | Category | Notes | Frequencies (Hz) | Strings changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard reentrant | GCEA | standard | G4 C4 E4 A4 | 392.00 · 261.63 · 329.63 · 440.00 | reference |
| Low G | GCEA (linear) | lowered | G3 C4 E4 A4 | 196.00 · 261.63 · 329.63 · 440.00 | 1 of 4 |
| D tuning | ADF#B | raised | A4 D4 F#4 B4 | 440.00 · 293.66 · 369.99 · 493.88 | 4 of 4 |
The last column is the number of strings that move relative to standard tuning, which is the fastest way to judge how disruptive a tuning is to reach and to undo.
What each soprano, concert or tenor ukulele tuning is for
Standard reentrant (GCEA)
The reference tuning for a ukulele, and it is reentrant: the 4th string is tuned above the 3rd rather than below it. Because the 4th string is higher than the 3rd, strumming does not sweep from low to high, and chords come out as a compact cluster of pitches inside a single octave. That is the source of the instrument's bright, chiming sound.
Common in almost all ukulele repertoire. Tune to Standard reentrant
Low G (GCEA (linear))
Replace the 4th string with a heavier one tuned an octave lower, G3 instead of G4. The other three strings are unchanged. Dropping the 4th string an octave makes the tuning linear, so the strings finally run low to high and the instrument gains a fifth of extra range at the bottom. Chord shapes are identical, but the voicing changes: what was a tight cluster now has a real bass note under it.
Common in fingerstyle, solo ukulele, jazz. Tune to Low G
D tuning (ADF#B)
Every string up a whole step from standard GCEA, keeping the reentrant layout. This was the common soprano tuning in early 20th century method books, before GCEA became the default, and a lot of old sheet music assumes it. On a short soprano scale the extra tension makes the instrument speak more brightly; on a tenor it is usually too much.
Common in early 20th century ukulele repertoire, soprano ukulele. Tune to D tuning
Use the data
These tunings are part of the open TuneStand dataset: /api/tunings.json, CC BY 4.0, no key required. See the dataset page for the schema and licence terms.
More tuning references
Frequencies on this page are computed at build time from twelve tone equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz, using the twelfth root of two (about 1.059463) per semitone. Nothing is typed in by hand. See the full method and sources. Maintained by FusionStudios. Last reviewed: .