Hungarian Songbook

Tuning the strings to each other (relative tuning)

If you don't have a tuner, you can tune the strings to each other. The ukulele will then be in tune with itself — if you play with others, match one instrument or a reference pitch (piano, tuning app, tuning fork).

Ukulele fretboard – relative tuning, string by string G C E A base 1 2 3 4 5 E 2 A 3 G 4a A 4b
Press the string at the red dot; the letter is the note you get, and you tune the matching open string to it. For the G string there are two ways (4a / 4b — see the steps). The C string is the base.
  1. Reference pitch. Find a C (middle C on a piano, an app, or a reliably tuned instrument) and tune the 3rd (C) string to it. If nothing is at hand, leave the C string as it is and tune the rest to match it.
  2. E string. Press the C string at the 4th fret: that is an E. Tune the 2nd (E) string until it sounds the same.
  3. A string. Press the E string at the 5th fret: that is an A. Tune the 1st (A) string to it.
  4. G string — two ways. Both work; pick whichever feels easier:
    • 4a. Press the E string at the 3rd fret: that is a G. Tune the open 4th (G) string to match.
    • 4b. Press the 4th (G) string at the 2nd fret: that is an A. Adjust the G string until it matches the open 1st (A) string.
    With a low-G string, the 4th string sounds an octave lower — your ear should hear an octave leap, not the same pitch.
  5. Check. Strum the four open strings (G–C–E–A), then play a C major chord. If something "pokes your ear," go through the steps once more.

Tip: sound the fretted and the open string almost together rather than one after the other — beats (a pulsing in-and-out-of-tune shimmer) are easier to hear than pitch differences. If the beating slows down, you are turning the right way.

Step-by-step tuner-based tuning is in the book, pages 42–43.