How to Tune the Ukulele using Pitch Pipes

Pitch pipes are usually very cheap, and can be purchased at most music stores. Typically pitch pipes cost between $8 and $20, although sometimes you will be given free pitch pipes when you buy a ukulele (it never hurts to ask!). There are a wide variety of different kinds of pitch pipes, most of which are instrument-specific. A ukulele-specific set of pitch pipes will have the simple G4-C4-E4-A4 tuning (or D3-G3-B3-E4 for baritone ukes), whereas you can also purchase more generalised pitch pipes with a full octave chromatic scale, if you prefer.

Unlike an electric tuner like our Online Chromatic Instrument Tuner, pitch pipes cannot tell you if you are flat or sharp - you will have to tune by ear. However, pitch pipes will help you to develop a greater memory for the correct pitch of the strings, making it easier to spot when you are starting to fall out of tune while you are playing. They are very portable, easy to throw into a ukulele case or in a wallet/bag, and no batteries are required!

Ukulele Specific Pitch Pipe	Chromatic Pitch Pipe

To use your pitch pipes, simply blow into the correct end, which is usually marked with the letter-name of the note it will sound. Blowing into the pitch pipe vibrates the metal reed, which has been designed to produce the correct note. While blowing on the pitch pipe, use the tuning peg on your ukulele to tune, loosening the string to lower the pitch, or tightening the string to raise it.

To see other methods on how to tune the ukulele visit our How to Tune the Ukulele page.