Standard ukulele tuning is GCEA: the four open strings sound, from the 4th string to the 1st, G C E A. It's the same for soprano, concert and tenor, and it has one quirk that throws off anyone coming from guitar: the highest string isn't the lowest-pitched one.
In short: in standard tuning the ukulele sounds GCEA, from the 4th string (G) to the 1st (A); the G is high-pitched (high-G), which makes the tuning re-entrant instead of running low-to-high in a straight line.
The notes of the GCEA standard
The ukulele has four strings. They're numbered, as on the guitar, from the one farthest from the high strings (the 4th) to the thinnest one (the 1st). In standard tuning, each carries a specific note:
- 4th string — G: the high G, set as G4. This is the string that makes the ukulele recognizable and explains the name "high-G."
- 3rd string — C: the middle C, C4. In this standard it's the lowest-pitched note on the instrument.
- 2nd string — E: the E, E4.
- 1st string — A: the A, A4, the thinnest and highest string, tuned to concert pitch.
In letter notation that gives G C E A — the abbreviation almost every tuner and chart uses, and the one we'll stick with here.
A re-entrant tuning
The most important difference from the guitar is that GCEA is a re-entrant tuning: the strings don't run from lowest to highest in order. The 4th string, which you'd expect to be the lowest, carries a high G (G4) that's actually higher than the C on the 3rd string and the E on the 2nd. In high-G, the lowest-pitched string on the ukulele is actually the 3rd (the C).
That's exactly the sound the famous "my dog has fleas" phrase captures: the four open strings don't climb in a straight line — they "re-enter." That's what gives the ukulele its bright, cohesive tone, where no single string stands out as the bass. If you prefer a low G, there's the low-G variant, covered below.
The sizes: soprano, concert, tenor
A common question is whether ukuleles of different sizes are tuned differently. For the three most common sizes, the answer is no: soprano, concert and tenor all share the same GCEA standard.
What changes is the scale length, the volume and the character of the sound — soprano is the smallest and brightest, tenor the fullest — but the open-string notes stay identical. You can move from a soprano to a tenor and use the same chords and fingerings without relearning anything. The one exception is the baritone, which uses a different tuning.
Frequency chart
Every note corresponds to a frequency in hertz (Hz), the value a tuner compares against the string you're playing. Here are the exact frequencies of the GCEA high-G standard:
| String | Note | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | G4 (high-G) | 392.0 Hz |
| 3rd (lowest) | C4 | 261.6 Hz |
| 2nd | E4 | 329.6 Hz |
| 1st (highest) | A4 | 440.0 Hz |
These values assume standard concert pitch with A at 440 Hz — not by coincidence, the open 1st string is exactly A4 at 440.0 Hz. Notice how the 3rd string (C4 at 261.6 Hz) is the lowest value in the chart, concrete proof that the 4th string, despite being "on top," is the high-pitched one.
Variants: baritone and low-G
Two variants step outside the GCEA high-G pattern and are worth a mention.
The first is the baritone ukulele, larger, tuned DGBE like the guitar's four highest strings: no high G, no re-entrant effect. It's a different sonic world, covered in the dedicated guide to baritone ukulele tuning DGBE.
The second is low-G: the tuning stays GCEA, but the 4th string drops an octave, from G4 to G3 (196.0 Hz). The tuning is no longer re-entrant and gains a lower register, useful for arpeggios and solos. If you want to know when it's worth switching, read the comparison between low-G and high-G ukulele tuning.
How to tune a ukulele
Tuning a ukulele means bringing each open string to its note: you usually start from the 4th (G) and work toward the 1st (A), checking one string at a time. The most reliable method is a tuner, which tells you right away whether a string is flat or sharp relative to the correct frequency.
A convenient option is to tune your ukulele with EasyGuitarTuner: it's free, runs in the browser with nothing to install, and works on any computer, smartphone or tablet with a microphone, recognizing both guitar and ukulele. Its only limitation is that, being microphone-based, it works best in a quiet room where background noise doesn't interfere with the reading.
To pick the right tool and set it up correctly for the four strings, you'll find every detail in the guide to ukulele tuners. Once your ear gets used to the re-entrant tone of GCEA, you'll start noticing on your own when a string is out of place.