Tuning a ukulele can be a challenge for players new to the music scene. It is a basic starting point for most new players. But it is often quickly learned and hurried past to get to actual playing – and rightfully so. However, learning to tune your ukulele is a great way to train your ear and begin understanding where the chord shapes come from.
Let’s explore some various ways to tune your ukulele and help tune your ears along the way.
The first thing I tell my students at the first lesson is to get a clip-on tuner. Most clip-on tuners are relatively inexpensive but, more importantly, they are easy to use and help you tune quickly to get right to the playing. We will first learn how to use the clip-on tuners and make sure it is set up properly for the ukulele. Then, we will look at an alternative method for tuning and explore why you may want to learn to tune by ear.
Tuning With a Clip-On Tuner
Setting up your clip-on tuner is important to make sure it will actually register the notes on the ukulele. While every tuner varies in the buttons and layout of where things are, there are some common settings you want to figure out how to set on yours.
Look for the Number: 440Hz
First, when you turn it on, find where it shows a number on your display that hopefully shows 440Hz. This is the standard frequency that we will tune to. If your number shows anything else than 440 (for example 441 or 432, etc.), figure out how to change that to 440 on your device. If this number is off, then your A note will be calibrated to a slightly different frequency than most other instruments and will sound out of tune compared to them.
Choose the Correct Instrument Setting:
The second important setting to look for is the instrument setting. Look for a little letter somewhere on your display that reads either V, G, U, or C – there may be other letters as well, but those are the most common. The letters stand for the instrument the tuner is set to register. So, V = violin, G = guitar, U = ukulele and C = chromatic.
The instrument setting allows the tuner to listen for the notes it expects to hear from that instrument. So, if you have it set to G for guitar, it will be calibrated to only register the notes on the guitar range and will not pick up all the notes on the ukulele. Think of it like turning on a filter to just register that particular instrument’s notes. The obvious choice for us is the U setting. However, we will see how the C setting might be a better choice for the budding musician.
Setting the tuner to U is great if your strings are already close to the notes they should be tuned to. However, if your strings are too far off from the note, then the tuner will not register what you are playing. This is where setting the tuner to C helps. When set to C for chromatic, the tuner will register any note and you will be able to see how far off your string is and adjust accordingly. Furthermore, you can also use the tuner to help tune other instruments without adjusting the tuner.
Now, Let’s Tune That Ukulele
Once you have the tuner set up, it’s time to tune your ukulele. We start by tuning the 4th string (closest to your face) to the note G. You want to play your string as you turn the tuning peg so you can hear it moving.
Tune Up to the Note Instead of Down
A good tip to remember is to always tune up to the note and not down, which means if you go too high above the target note, then tune back below it and adjust up to the note. Follow this same method for tuning the other strings to the following notes: G C E A from the 4th string to the 1st.
How to Remember the Ukulele Strings
We can use a mnemonic to help us remember these letters. For example, Goats Can Eat Anything, or Giant Cats Eat Aardvarks. I recommend finding a ukulele tuning guide video on Youtube or Vimeo so that you can hear the tones of each string and try to match your strings to each tone. That way, you will start close to the desired note and make tuning with the tuner easier.
Tune the Ukulele to Itself
Tuning by ear doesn’t mean that you’ll have a ukulele that is actually in tune to those notes, but you can tune it so the instrument sounds good on its own. Start by playing the open 4th string and then the 7th fret of the 3rd string – these should sound exactly the same. If not, adjust the 3rd string until it does.
Next, play the open 4th string again and compare it to the 3rd fret of the second string. Again, these should sound exactly the same – adjust the 2nd string if not. Finally, play the 5th fret of the second string and compare that to the open 1st string. Adjust the 1st string to sound exactly like that 2nd string at the 5th fret. This method will allow you to play the ukulele and sound good by itself, but unless you know what your 4th string is actually tuned to, it might not be in real tune.
Your First Chords
The C Chord
After tuning your instrument, you are now ready to play your first notes with the confidence knowing it will sound like music. Let’s explore the first chords on the ukulele. Chords are blocks of 3 or more notes played together, usually with a strum of the right hand. This means that we can place our fingers down on specific frets and hold them there while we strum – this is called a chord shape.
Your first chord involves just one finger. Take the ring finger of your left hand and press down on the 1st string at the 3rd fret. Then strum all four strings with your right hand (just use a thumb if you’re not used to strumming yet). Voila! You have played your first chord – the C chord. Below is a chord diagram of what the left hand does. The vertical lines are the strings (4th string on the left and 1st string on the right), and the horizontal lines are the frets. The block dots are where to place your fingers to hold down the string at that fret.
The F Chord
Notice how the C chord only uses the ring finger. This leaves your other fingers free to prepare for their next moves. Start with your middle finger and press on the 2nd fret of the 4th string. Then, add your index finger to the 1st fret of the 2nd string. Again, strum all four strings. This is the F chord, and it sounds good paired with the C chord. Use the chord diagram below to help.
The G7 Chord
Don’t worry about what the 7 means right now – just know it sounds a little different than the G chord but is practically the same. To get to the G7 from the F chord, leave your index finger where it is on the 2nd string 1st fret. Then, move your middle finger to the 3rd string 2nd fret. Finally, add your ring finger to the 2nd fret of the 1st string.
You will have to slightly turn your hand inward to help squeeze that ring finger under. Notice how the ring finger is now back on the 1st string. You just have to slide it up to the 3fret while releasing the other finger and you’re back to your C chord. Again, the G7 chord pairs with the C and F chords to help create songs – they sound good together.
Playing These Three Chords Together
When you play these three chords together in any order, you will notice that the C is the ending chord. Meaning, you can play these chords in any order but to end an idea or a song, our ears want to hear the C last. Just listen as you play and try to end on the F or G7 chord and you’ll hear what I mean.
You can now play many songs with just these three chords. Do a quick online search for ukulele songs with C F and G7 and you will come up with lists of quite a variety of music.
Practice changing between the chords using the directions above and you will be transitioning smoothly in no time. Remember, it takes work but it will be easy to play songs after you know how to move your fingers between the chords.
Tune your instrument every time you pick it up to play to ensure these chords will sound good and then play. Have fun and strum on!
Justin Martinez