Guitalele Tuning
Hello! Here you can quickly and correctly tune your guitalele. A guitalele is a musical instrument that sounds similar to a regular guitar but is closer in size to a ukulele. In simple terms, a guitalele is a small six-string guitar. Technically, the tuning process is no different from tuning a regular guitar or ukulele.
A guitalele can be tuned like a regular guitar to E tuning if it has special hard strings for E tuning. However, most new guitaleles come with strings designed for A tuning. This tuning is exactly the same as on a regular six-string guitar, but all strings are tuned five semitones higher. Therefore, regardless of whether your guitalele is tuned to A or E, you can play it like a regular guitar; the chord fingerings will not differ from those for a six-string guitar. Learn more about playing the guitalele.
List of Notes with String Sounds for Guitalele Tuning
This is the most common tuning option for regular soft nylon strings.
- 1 string - A4 (thinnest)
- 2 string - E4
- 3 string - C4
- 4 string - G3
- 5 string - D3
- 6 string - A2
How to Tune a Guitalele
Click the "Turn on the Tuner" button after the online tuner loads. Your device will then ask for permission to access the microphone - you need to allow access so that the tuner can hear your guitalele. After that, play the open strings one by one on your guitalele and look at the tuner - it will show the note being played. The open string notes should match the note list on this page. If the tuner needle deviates from the correct note, you need to tighten or loosen the string. In this way, you need to tune all six strings.
Important Information for Beginners
If you are not sure what type of strings are installed on your guitalele and in which tuning it should be: A or E, then first tune your guitalele to E tuning. The E tuning is lower, the string tension is less, so you will not be able to break the strings or damage the guitalele. Tuning a guitalele to E tuning is exactly the same as tuning a regular six-string guitar. You can find instructions for tuning to E here. Then, play your guitalele tuned to E. If you like how your guitalele sounds in E tuning, leave it that way and play it like a regular guitar.
But if, when tuned to E, the strings buzz when playing and seem too soft, then your strings are designed for A tuning. Retuning a guitalele from E to A is easy - increase the tension of all strings by five semitones according to the note list above on this page.
When tuning a guitalele, it is not enough to just tune all the strings in order once. When you change the tension of one string, the tension of all the other strings automatically changes in the opposite direction. For example, if you tighten strings 1, 2, and 3, this means that strings 4, 5, and 6 automatically loosen a little. To tune the guitalele well, you need to go through all six strings several times and make sure that they all sound correct according to the note list.
How Often to Tune a Guitalele
New nylon strings will stretch constantly for at least a couple of weeks after installation. Do not be alarmed if your guitalele is completely out of tune just five minutes after playing on new strings. This is normal, and you may need to tighten the new strings many times after the first tuning. To always have a tuner handy for quick tuning of your guitalele, bookmark this page!
How to Play a Guitalele Depending on Tuning
As mentioned above, a guitalele can be tuned to E or A.
How to Play a Guitalele Tuned to E
If the guitalele is tuned to E, then you need to play it like a regular classical six-string guitar, and all chord charts match 100%.
How to Play a Guitalele Tuned to A
If the guitalele is tuned to A, you can still play it with the same chords as a regular guitar; it will just sound five semitones higher. Imagine playing a regular guitar with a capo on the fifth fret - that is your guitalele tuned to A.
If the guitalele is tuned to A but you want the song keys you play on the guitalele to match the keys for a regular guitar, you need to transpose the chords in the song down by five semitones. For example, if the original guitar chords in the song were "Am, F, C, G," after transposing, they become "Em, C, G, D." Thus, you play like on a regular guitar but with the chords transposed down by five semitones.
How to Play a Guitalele Using Ukulele Fingerings
If you already know how to play the ukulele but do not know how to play the regular guitar, you can start by playing the guitalele as if it were a ukulele. If your guitalele is tuned to A, as shown above on this page, you may notice that the first four strings of the guitalele have the same notes as the strings for the ukulele. This means that if you ignore the fifth and sixth strings, the guitalele is a ukulele, and you can play it with the same ukulele chords, but try not to touch the fifth and sixth strings when playing (you can remove or mute them).
Whichever tuning and playing style you choose, the most important thing is that you enjoy playing! Our tuner will help your guitalele sound right. Enjoy your playing!