What Notes Are the Strings on a Ukulele? A Beginner's Tuning Guide

Yesterday a friend gave me a ukulele, and I was so excited I picked it up right away wanting to play. But then I realized I had no idea what notes the strings were. I searched "what notes are the strings on a ukulele" and saw a bunch of letters like GCEA and AECG, which made me even more confused. If you're in the same boat, don't worry—I'll help you figure it out. And if you want to hear the reference tones while you read, you can use our .

Standard Tuning: What Does GCEA Actually Mean?

The most common ukulele tuning is GCEA. These four letters represent the note names of the four strings from bottom to top (thickest to thinnest).

4th string (thickest): G note
3rd string: C note
2nd string: E note
1st string (thinnest): A note

Here's something that can be confusing: even though the G string is the thickest, it's actually higher in pitch than the C string. That's because ukuleles use a high G (also called reentrant tuning), not a low G. When I first learned this, it felt counterintuitive, but it's important to remember—otherwise you'll tune it wrong.

How to Remember Each String's Note: My Memory Trick

I couldn't remember them at first either, but I came up with a memory trick that works for me:

"Good Children Eat Apples" - The first letters spell out G-C-E-A from bottom to top.

Or if you prefer a musical phrase: "Guitar Can't Ever Ache" - same thing, G-C-E-A.

Once you remember the order, you still need to know the actual pitch of each string. I downloaded a tuning app on my phone and played each string while watching what note appeared on the screen. After doing this a few times, it stuck. You can try this method too.

Three Practical Ways to Tune Your Ukulele

Method 1: Use Our Online Ukulele Tuner (Easiest)

This is the simplest way to get in tune. Open your browser and go to our online ukulele tuner, and you're ready to go—no downloads, no installs.

Our tuner supports two modes:

Reference tone mode: click the buttons to hear the standard note and match it by ear
Real-time detection mode: allow microphone access and see your pitch update live when you pluck a string

Step-by-step:

1. Open our online tuner

2. Choose the mode you prefer (for beginners, I recommend starting with the reference tone mode)

3. Click the G, C, E, and A buttons to get a feel for what each standard note sounds like

4. Pluck your 4th string (the thickest one) and compare it to the G reference tone

5. If your note is lower, slowly tighten the tuning peg; if it's higher, slowly loosen it

6. Repeat until your string sounds as close as possible to the reference tone

7. Do the same for the other three strings

Pro tip: Turn the pegs slowly—don't crank them too much at once. I used to over-tighten and snap strings; taking it one small twist at a time fixed that. The nice thing about the online tuner is that you can replay the reference tones as many times as you need, so your ears gradually get used to the correct pitch.

Method 2: Use Our Tuner's Real-Time Detection Mode

If you play often or care a lot about being precisely in tune, the real-time mode on our tuner is a game changer—and it's still completely free.

Benefits of real-time detection:

Shows your pitch instantly, so tuning feels very intuitive
Less affected by background noise compared to many generic tools
No need to install an app—just open the page and tune
Fast response makes the whole process much quicker

How to use it:

1. Open our

2. When your browser asks for microphone access, click Allow

3. Pluck the 4th string and watch the pitch indicator on the screen

4. If it shows G but the needle leans left, your string is flat—tighten the peg slightly; if it leans right, it's sharp—loosen it slightly

5. When the needle sits in the center green zone, that string is in tune

6. Repeat for the remaining three strings

Another tip: Try to tune in a quiet room. I once tried tuning in the living room with the TV on and the readings were all over the place. As soon as I turned the TV off, the tuner became much more accurate. Also, keep your ukulele fairly close to your phone or laptop so the microphone can pick up the sound clearly.

Method 3: Use Relative Tuning (Even Without a Tuner)

This method is something I picked up from a more experienced player, and it's perfect when you don't have a mic or stable internet. The idea is to use the pitch relationships between strings instead of relying only on tools.

Here's how:

1. First, tune just the 3rd string (C) using our online tuner by matching it to the C reference tone

2. Once the C string is in tune, press the 3rd string at the 4th fret—this note should match the open 2nd string (E)

3. After tuning the 2nd string, press the 2nd string at the 3rd fret—this should match the open 1st string (A)

4. After tuning the 1st string, press the 1st string at the 2nd fret—this should match the open 4th string (G)

It might sound a bit technical on paper, but once you try it, it feels very natural. The first time I used this, I realized my \"tool-tuned\" strings were slightly off. After retuning with relative tuning, the overall sound was noticeably better. This method is especially handy when your microphone isn't working or your connection is unstable.

A Tuning Trick That 99% of People Don't Know

Here's a little trick I learned after playing for a while: When tuning, don't just look at the note names—listen to the interval relationships too.

Specifically, after you've tuned the 3rd string to C, press down the 3rd string at the 4th fret. The note you get should match the open 2nd string (E note). Similarly, the 2nd string at the 3rd fret should match the open 1st string (A note).

You can use this to quickly check if your ukulele is in tune, and even tune manually without a tuner. When I first tried this method, I discovered that my app-tuned strings were actually slightly off. After retuning with this method, the sound quality improved noticeably.

Common Question: Why Does My Ukulele Keep Going Out of Tune?

If you just bought the ukulele or changed the strings, going out of tune is totally normal. New strings need time to "settle in"—usually a day or two of playing. During this period, you might need to tune daily.

Another common reason is loose tuning pegs. After tuning, gently pull on the string. If the pitch changes, the tuning peg might be loose and needs to be tightened a bit.

Final Thoughts

Remember GCEA, and you've got the basics of ukulele tuning down. It might feel like a hassle at first, but tuning is a fundamental skill. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Now I can pretty much tell which string is off just by listening—you'll get there too.

Most importantly, don't give up because tuning seems annoying. A properly tuned ukulele sounds completely different from one that's out of tune. Trust me, spending a few minutes to tune properly will make your playing experience so much better.