Lesson 2: Tuning and the strings G C E A

Week 2 of 24

Goal: You tune your ukulele with the tuner and know the names of the four strings.

Review

Hold the ukulele like last week and play C four times. Does it already sound nicer?

Step by step

  1. From top to bottom the strings are G C E A. Memory trick: “Good Cats Eat Anything.” More: Ukulele strings.
  2. The G string is special: it sounds higher than the C string next to it. That’s on purpose and gives the ukulele its bright sound.
  3. Open the tuner. Pluck a string and let it ring. The display tells you whether it is too low or too high.
  4. Turn the tuning peg very slowly, just a little at a time, and keep plucking. Too low? Tighten a bit. Too high? Go below the note first, then come up.
  5. Tune every time before you practise. A tuned ukulele sounds much nicer right away. Step by step: Tuning the ukulele.
  6. Care: after practising, wipe the strings with a dry cloth and put the ukulele in its bag – not next to the heater and not in bright sun.

Time to make music: your piece

With the rhythm “Only down”: strum C four times, then pluck G, C, E, A one by one – keep switching. Then “Bruder Jakob” with C.

To the tuner

Practise rhythm Pattern: Only down

Bruder Jakob in C

Homework for next time

Five days, about ten minutes each:

  • Tune first, every day.
  • Pluck the strings and say out loud: G, C, E, A.
  • Four times C, four single plucks – three rounds in a row.
  • Fun: teach someone in your family the memory trick.

Done when …

  • you have tuned all four strings with the tuner
  • you can name the strings without looking

If you get stuck

  • The tuner shows nothing? Allow the microphone and pluck a little harder. A quiet room helps.
  • The string goes out of tune again right away? New strings still stretch. It gets better after a few days.
For teachers: lesson plan
  1. ≈ 10 min Warm-up: say the memory trick together while pointing at the strings. Who can invent their own?
  2. ≈ 15 min Practice: tune in pairs – one person tunes, the other watches the tuner. Then swap.
  3. ≈ 20 min Song together: “Bruder Jakob” with C. One group strums C, the other plucks G C E A.

Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.

For the board: openstring.de/ukulele/en/lesson/2/

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