Tuning

Before you start playing, you have to make sure that your ukulele sounds right. This will involve adjusting the pitch of each of your strings, which is a process called tuning. The standard tuning of the ukulele is as follows:

                                               G C E A

These letters are the notes of the four strings of your ukulele as if you were looking directly at it.
Moving from left to right:

• The string furthest to your left (known as the 4th string) is tuned to a G note.
• The following string (known as the 3rd string) is tuned to a C note.
• The string after that (known as the 2nd string) is tuned to an E note.
• The string furthest to your right (known as the 1st string) is tuned to an A note.
  

Although you can tune your uke to whatever sound you want, following standard tuning will make learning easier and allow you to play more easily with others.

How To Tune Your Uke

Alright, now that I've told you what an ukulele should sound like, you might be wondering, "How do I get that sound?" Well, unless you have a tuner, which is a device that tells you the pitch of a sound, tuning might be a little difficult because you will have to rely on your ear. If you don't have a tuner, you'll have to compare the sound of your ukulele to one that's tuned. You can find recorded sounds of a standard tuned uke on many sites such as this one.

Now whether you're using a tuner or the tuner online, in order to adjust the sound of an ukulele you have to adjust the tension of its strings by turning its tuning pegs. Each string is connected to its own tuning peg at the head of the ukulele. By turning a tuning peg you either tighten or loosen the string attached to it, making the sound higher or lower. If a note is too high it is considered sharp, if it is too low it is considered flat.

• Tightening a string raises the pitch (higher note).
• Loosening a string lowers the pitch (lower note).

Adjust the pitch of each string until your ukulele is in standard tuning.