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The tenor ukulele is the 2nd largest of 4 different sizes that define the ukulele family: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. The bigger the scale length of a uke, the greater the sound and the greater the bass tone. A tenor uke has a scale length (the length from the nut to the bridge) of 17” along with an overall length of 26”. Even though tenor ukes are getting to be very popular, they actually started off being favoured by just a relatively small number of skillful players, for example Jake Shimabukuro.

This is no longer the case, with the tenor ukulele becoming a wide-spread choice for novices. I needed to post this article to be able to answer a common query associated with how to tune a tenor uke, which is often a lttle bit unclear in the beginning, seeing as there are three ways to tune one: gc’e'a’ (re-entrant c-tuning), g’c'e’a’ (low-G tuning), or d’gbe’ (re-entrant D tuning).

Firstly, let’s start using the old fashioned way: Re- Entrant C-Tuning.

Our G string must be higher than the C and E strings.

The C is going to be exactly like a middle C of a piano.

Your 4th fret of the C string is equivalent to the open E string.

Our 3rd fret of the E string is the same as the un-fretted G string.

The 5th fret of the E string will be the same as the open A string.

Second, Low G tuning, which is slowly but surely starting to be an increasingly popular approach to tune the tenor ukulele, perhaps because it more closely resembles a guitar. I like to tune mine using this method for solo playing, as you can create your own bass accompaniment. To try this tuning, just simply follow the previous process, with the exception that your G string should be tuned lower than the C string.

Finally, the least popular is called re-entrant D tuning – a relatively new approach. You will need some non-standard strings to take advantage of this specific tuning. This is also very much like a guitar, only with your D string tuned high.

Curious about how to choose which way to tune for your style of play? Here is an effective rule of thumb:

For strumming – re-entrant C

Solo performing – low G

An example of precisely how I normally would tune a tenor ukulele to low G (g’c'e’a') is as follows:-

Hold down the second string (from the top) on the 4th fret, and pick it alternating with your open string beneath it. Tune this open 3rd string to sound exactly like fretted one above it.

Then, hold down your third string (from top) on the 5th fret, and then adjust the string below it so that they sound exactly the same.

Lastly, tune the top string by holding it down at the second fret, and tuning it to sound like your bottom string.

Good luck.