Standard Tuning on Ukulele: Notes, Chords and How to Use It

Standard tuning is the home base of the ukulele. Almost every chord chart, songbook and lesson you'll come across assumes it, so learning how it works is one of the most useful things you can do as a new player. Once you understand why the four strings are tuned the way they are, chord shapes start to make sense, scales stop looking random, and you'll notice that a lot of what you learn carries over to other instruments as well.

The Four Open Strings

An open string is a string you play without pressing any fret. In standard tuning, reading from the top string (the one nearest your chin) down to the bottom, the open strings are:

• String 4: G
• String 3: C
• String 2: E
• String 1: A

Many players remember this with the phrase "Good Cooks Eat Apples" or by singing the old "My Dog Has Fleas" tune.

You'll notice something unusual. On most ukuleles the top G string is tuned higher than the C string next to it, so the strings don't run simply from low to high. This is called re-entrant tuning, and it gives the ukulele its bright, sparkly sound. Some players fit a thicker string and tune that G lower ("low G"), which adds depth. The note names stay exactly the same either way.

How to Get Into Standard Tuning

Because this is already the standard, there's nothing to retune from. What you need is a reliable way to get each string in tune. A clip-on or app tuner is the easiest: pluck each string and turn its peg until the tuner shows G, C, E and A.

It's also worth learning to tune the strings to each other, because it trains your ear. First, some words. A half step is the distance of one fret. An interval is the distance between two notes. The gaps between neighbouring strings are:

• G to C: a perfect 4th, which is 5 frets
• C to E: a major 3rd, which is 4 frets
• E to A: a perfect 4th, which is 5 frets

So, step by step:

1. Tune the C string with a tuner or reference note.
2. Press the C string at fret 4. That's E. Tune the open E string until it matches.
3. Press the E string at fret 5. That's A. Tune the open A string to match.
4. Press the G string at fret 5. That's C. Adjust the G string until that fretted note matches your open C. (With re-entrant tuning it will sound an octave higher, the same note in a higher register, which is fine.)

Listen for the "wobble" when two notes are close but not quite matched. As you get closer, the wobble slows down and then disappears. That's your sign you're in tune.

What You Hear When You Strum the Open Strings

Strum all four strings without fretting anything. You're hearing G, C, E and A together, a sweet, slightly unfinished sound. Those four notes make a chord musicians call C6, and the same notes can also be heard as Am7. That's why the open strum sounds pleasant on its own and blends happily with so many songs in the keys of C and A minor.

Those open strings also work as drones, notes you let ring while other notes move around them. Try fretting a melody on the A string while the open G, C and E keep sounding. It's an instant, gentle, harp-like texture.

Chord Shapes and Why They Fall So Easily

Standard tuning is built so the most common beginner chords need very few fingers. Here are four that will get you through hundreds of songs (numbers are frets, from string 4 to string 1, with 0 meaning open):

• C: 0 0 0 3
• Am: 2 0 0 0
• F: 2 0 1 0
• G: 0 2 3 2

C and Am each use just one finger, because the open strings already contain most of their notes. That's the real advantage of this tuning: it's generous to beginners.

A note on "heavier riffs": that idea belongs more to lowered guitar tunings. The ukulele in standard tuning is about brightness and clarity rather than weight. If you want a fuller low end, a low-G string is the usual route.

A Handy Link to Guitar

The intervals between the uke's strings (4th, major 3rd, 4th) are the same as the top four strings of a guitar. So shapes match exactly, but they produce different chord names. The guitar's D chord shape on its top four strings, for example, is the same shape as the uke's G chord. If you ever pick up a guitar, your uke shapes will already feel familiar.

How Scale Shapes Sit on the Neck

A scale is a set of notes played in order, like a ladder. The C major scale fits neatly near the nut:

• C string: frets 0, 2, 4 (C, D, E)
• E string: frets 1, 3 (F, G)
• A string: frets 0, 2, 3 (A, B, C)

Because the C-to-E gap is only 4 frets while the others are 5, any scale pattern shifts by one fret as it crosses between the C and E strings. That little "kink" is the one thing to remember, and it's the same kink guitarists learn on their G and B strings. Use the interactive fretboard to watch the pattern bend as you move it up the neck.

A First Thing to Try

Tune up using the fretted method above, then strum the open strings and let them ring. Now switch between C (0 0 0 3) and Am (2 0 0 0) in a slow, steady rhythm, four strums each. Notice how little your hand moves and how the open strings keep the sound smooth. When that feels easy, add F and G and you've got a full song's worth of chords. Five relaxed minutes a day of this will do more than an hour once a week.

More on the instrument itself: the Ukulele guide.