Ukulele
Authority: Equal Temperament Pitch Frequency Table
Standard soprano and concert ukulele tuning is G4-C4-E4-A4, a re-entrant tuning where the G string is pitched higher than the C and E strings below it. At concert pitch, the frequencies are G4 392.00 Hz, C4 261.63 Hz, E4 329.63 Hz, and A4 440.00 Hz.
| String # | Note Name | Scientific Pitch | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 (Re-entrant, high G) | G | G4 | 392.00 Hz |
| 3 | C | C4 | 261.63 Hz |
| 2 | E | E4 | 329.63 Hz |
| 1 (Thinnest) | A | A4 | 440.00 Hz |
History & Origin
The ukulele descends from small Portuguese string instruments carried to Hawaii by immigrants from the island of Madeira. In August 1879, the ship Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu carrying, among its passengers, three Madeiran cabinet makers -- Manuel Nunes, Jose do Espirito Santo, and Augusto Dias -- who brought instruments known as the machete (or braguinha), a small four-string relative of the cavaquinho. Hawaiian craftsmen and musicians adapted the instrument's size, shape, and stringing over the following years, and the result became known as the ukulele.
The ukulele's distinctive re-entrant tuning -- where the fourth string (G) is pitched higher than the third and second strings below it, rather than continuing downward in pitch -- descends from a related Madeiran instrument called the rajão, which used a similar reentrant arrangement. That inherited quirk is what gives the ukulele its bright, chiming strum, quite different from the smoothly descending pitch order used on guitar or bass.