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Ukulele D tuning: A D F# B

Tune your ukulele to Ukulele D tuning (A D F# B) with your microphone. Allow the microphone when the page opens, play one string at a time and turn the peg until the needle sits in the middle. Each string button plays its note from a real nylon-string recording, so you can also tune by ear.

Ukulele D tuning tuning notes

D tuning (A D F# B) puts every string a whole step above standard. It was the usual tuning for soprano ukuleles for much of the 20th century, many older songbooks still use it, and it sounds brighter and sweeter.

StringNoteFrequency (A4 = 440 Hz)
4A4440.0 Hz
3D4293.7 Hz
2F#4370.0 Hz
1B4493.9 Hz

How to tune to Ukulele D tuning

From standard tuning, raise every string a whole step: G to A, C to D, E to F#, and A to B. Go slowly: it adds tension.

  1. Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
  2. Play one string and let it ring. Keep the other strings quiet, and keep the ukulele close to the microphone.
  3. The string nearest the note you played lights up. The needle to the left means flat (tune up), to the right means sharp (tune down).
  4. Turn the tuning peg slowly until the needle sits in the green middle and the note name turns green.
  5. Do the same for every string, then check the first one again: tuning one string changes the neck tension a little.

Questions

Does the tuner need a microphone?

To hear your ukulele, yes. Allow the microphone when the page opens. Listening starts automatically. The sound is analyzed in your browser and never recorded or uploaded. Without a microphone, tap a string button to hear its note and tune by ear.

How accurate is this tuner?

On a clean, ringing note it reads the pitch to within a cent, a hundredth of a semitone. The needle turns green within 3 cents of the note, closer than most ears can tell.

What is Ukulele D tuning tuning?

A D F# B, from the 4th string to the 1st. D tuning (A D F# B) puts every string a whole step above standard. It was the usual tuning for soprano ukuleles for much of the 20th century, many older songbooks still use it, and it sounds brighter and sweeter.

Why is the A string higher than the one next to it?

That is re-entrant tuning, and it is how a ukulele is meant to sound: the 4th string is tuned up an octave, so all four strings sit close together in pitch. The tuner knows this, so tune each string to the note it shows.

Should I tune up or down to the note?

Tune up to it. If a string is sharp, lower it below the note and come back up, so the string sits firmly on the tuning peg and holds its pitch.

What does A4 = 440 Hz mean?

440 Hz is the concert pitch most instruments tune to: the A above middle C. Some orchestras use 442 or 443 Hz, and some people prefer 432 Hz. Change the A4 field and every string follows.

Other tunings

Ukulele

Guitar

Bass

Tuned up? Play along with a song

The virtual guitar sets itself up for each song: key, capo, tempo and the strum or picking pattern. Playing your own guitar along? Choose Play my guitar to slow the song down, from 20% to full speed. The easy guitar songs page groups them by how many chords they have.

Guitoro: a free virtual guitar for the browser: steel-string, classic, electric and bass.