6 Sure Ways to Tune Your Soprano Ukulele

There is nothing worse to a tuned ear than the sound of an instrument being played out of tune - in particular any type of ukulele. So one of the most important things you would want to be able to do as a ukulele player is to be able to tune your ukulele perfectly. This article will look at six ways that you can use to tune your soprano ukulele.

Using an Electronic Tuner
For anyone without a good ear and anyone with a good ear this would be the way to go if you want your ukulele to be in perfect tune. Electronic tuners vary in price and functionality but are fantastic to have and very easy to use. There are tuners that produce sounds which you tune your ukulele strings to and ones which show on a screen what note your string is playing after plucking a string. If you had a good ear then tuning to another instrument is another way.

Tuning to Another Instrument
Virtually any tuned instrument such as a guitar, piano, recorder, another ukulele, keyboard etc can be used to tune your ukulele accurately. You just need to know what notes to tune to and have a good ear. The pitch of a string is matched to the pitch of the note played by the other tuned instrument. If you haven't got access to another instrument try tuning the ukulele to itself.

Tuning the Ukulele to Itself-Relative Tuning
If you just want to play on your own without worrying about being in tune with someone else you can tune your ukulele to itself, often referred to as relative tuning. Relative tuning of your ukulele means you are using one of the strings to tune the other strings of the ukulele. Once mastered it is really easy to do. If this doesn't work for you try tuning online.

Tuning the Ukulele Online
Tuning online is a breeze. There are many online tuners out there on the internet to choose from. Online tuners can also be downloaded so that they can easily and quickly be accessed. An online tuner is quite unique because you can see and hear notes as they are being played. Just click on the note for the string you want to tune and then tune the tuning keys on your ukulele to match the sounds of the string notes to the pitches of the notes that are being played by the online tuner. It's that simple! Another way is to use a CD or DVD which normally comes in a commercially produced instructional package.

Tuning to a CD
Many instructional tutor books come with a CD or DVD which without fail have the notes of each string being plucked so you can easily tune your ukulele. The CD/DVD unusually also includes supporting examples of the exercises and tunes found in the instructional manual which is a bonus. These are excellent too. With the advent of You Tube, information about ukulele tuning is easily obtainable.

Using YouTube
By going to You Tube, free online instructions for tuning your ukulele can be found by simply typing in an appropriate keyword into the search box. A variety of ukulele enthusiasts can be found there explaining the finer points of tuning a ukulele. These are excellent and well worth investigating.