Tuning by Reference Tones

I’m showing here how to tune by reference tones only for my standard ukulele tuning: Re-entrant (high G) GCEA tuning.

Brief instruction

In order to tune the ukulele, turn the knobs of the tuning pegs, until every string produces exactly the correct tone for the intended tuning.

ukulele tone G:

ukulele tone C:

ukulele tone E:

ukulele tone A:

Using the beating

Hint: Tuning by using the beating doesn’t come naturally to everybody. Quite often, listening habits are playing a role. So please don’t despair if you can’t get it right at the first attempt.

In order to achieve a very accurate tuning by ear, a physical phenomenon called the “beating” can be utilized. It occurs whenever two tones of slightly different frequencies are played at the same time. The beating can be heared as a periodical variation in volume, somewhat like a tremolo. The further the frequencies are seperated, the faster the beating becomes. The closer the frequencies come together, the slower the beating becomes. If both tones have exactly the same frequency, the beating disappears entirely.

In the following sound clip, a long reference tone can be heard. At the same time, a slightly detuned G string is played (two times in a row), so that the beating can be heard clearly.  Thereafter, a well tuned G string is played twice, so that no beating can be heard.

Audio sample: Beating (2x ukulele tone with beating, 2x without)

Now, reference tones for G, C, E and A are provided. The beating will be hearable best if the volume is well adjusted. So try to find the best volume setting for hearing the beating at first. Then you can tune every string individually until the beating disappears.

It should also work with headphones, however the volume has to be adjusted surprisingly low in this case, otherwise the beating will be covered by the difference in loudness.

Try to approach the correct tuning by tuning up, not down. In order to tune a string, first tune it a little bit too deep, so that the beating can be heard clearly. Then try to approach the reference tone by slowly tuning up, until the beating gets slower and slower, and finally vanishes. If you overshoot, the beating will become hearable again and also pick up speed again, if you continue tuning up. In this case start over by tuning down to a slightly too deep tone again.

reference tone G:

reference tone C:

reference tone E:

reference tone A:

In case the embedded player fails, you can download a zip file with all audio samples and reference tones here:

Ukulele Arts tuning sounds

Hint: When tuning a string, it may be helpful to mute all other strings at the same time, so they cannot resonate. That’s because such resonance can create its own beating, making it more difficult to hear the “right” beating, which you want to utilize for tuning.