A ukulele on top, a guitar underneath
A guitalele is tuned A2–D3–G3–C4–E4–A4— 110.00, 146.83, 196.00, 261.63, 329.63 and 440.00 Hz. That is a guitar’s interval pattern moved up a perfect fourth, which is the same thing as a guitar capoed at the fifth fret, except that you keep all your frets instead of losing five of them.
The reason the instrument exists is what happens at the top of that tuning. Strings four through one are G–C–E–A — a ukulele in its low-G form, note for note. So a guitarist gets six familiar strings with every shape transposed up a fourth, and a ukulele player gets their four strings exactly where they expect them with two extra ones underneath. Both are right at the same time.
Compare the three tabs: the middle one is literally the top four strings of the first, and the third shows how far a guitar sits below. A guitalele begins where a guitar's fifth string is.
What your shapes actually sound
| You play the shape | On a guitar it sounds | On a guitalele it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| E | E | A |
| A | A | D |
| C | C | F |
| G | G | C |
| D | D | G |
Everything moves by the same interval, so nothing about the fretboard geometry changes — only the names. This is the one thing worth settling before you play with anyone else: if you call out chords by shape rather than by sound, you and the guitarist next to you are in different keys.
Tuning routine
- Start at the 1st string, A4. It is concert A itself and the clearest reading on the instrument.
- Work down: E4, C4, G3, D3, A2, watching the octave digit. The tuning has two As an octave apart, which is the one place a slip can hide.
- Approach every string from below. Nylon and a tuning machine both have slack in them; come up to pitch rather than down onto it.
- Give the 6th string time. A2 on a very short scale has a weak fundamental, so the reading arrives later and wanders more than the trebles. Let it ring before you judge it.
- Go round two or three times, and more on a new set. Nylon creeps for days, and a short scale exaggerates it — the same amount of stretch is a bigger fraction of a shorter string.
What the needle can and cannot settle
The dial handles six open strings, and on a fretted nylon instrument that is most of the job: your frets are cut for equal temperament, so the open strings and the fingerboard agree with each other.
Two things it will not tell you. A short scale with high action punishes a heavy left hand — pressing hard behind a fret stretches the string enough to sharpen it audibly, and more so here than on a full-size guitar — so if the open strings read centred and your chords still sound sharp, look at your hand before the pegs. And in an ensemble, the third of a chord wants to sit lower than equal temperament puts it, which our guide to cents explains. For the neighbours: the ukulele tuner covers the top four strings on their own, and the bass ukulele the other end of the family.
Frequently asked questions
Is a guitalele tuned like a guitar or like a ukulele?
Both, which is the point of it. All six strings are a guitar’s intervals moved up a perfect fourth — A2–D3–G3–C4–E4–A4 — so every guitar chord shape works unchanged and simply sounds a fourth higher. At the same time the top four of those strings are G–C–E–A, which is a ukulele in low-G form, so ukulele shapes also work unchanged on strings 4 to 1. One instrument, two sets of muscle memory, both valid.
Can I tune a guitalele to EADGBE like a normal guitar?
You can, and it will be loose. A guitalele is built around a scale of roughly 17 inches for A–D–G–C–E–A; tuning down a fourth to E leaves the strings at around half the tension they were designed to hold. In practice that means a flabby feel, buzzing against the frets, and stopped notes running sharp because a slack string stretches more when you press it. If you want guitar pitch, use a set intended for it rather than detuning the one that came fitted — or buy a small guitar instead.
What do my guitar chord shapes sound like on it?
A fourth higher than their names. Play an E shape and it sounds A; play a C shape and it sounds F; a G shape sounds C. Everything transposes by the same interval because every string moved by the same interval, so nothing about the geometry changes. Guitaleles are often described as a guitar capoed at the fifth fret and that is exactly right — with the advantage that you keep all the frets, rather than losing the first five under a capo.
Where does a guitalele sit against a requinto?
They are the same pitch set. A requinto is also tuned A–D–G–C–E–A, a fourth above a guitar, and for the same structural reason: a short scale is what makes the higher tuning hold together. The differences are cultural and physical rather than musical — a requinto is a Mexican instrument of the trío romántico with a 530 to 540 mm scale and a serious solo repertoire, while a guitalele is a modern travel-sized crossover, typically shorter still and built to a lower price. Anything written for one is playable on the other.
Why does my low A string sound dull compared with the rest?
Short scale, low pitch, and a string that has to be thick to bridge the two. A2 at 110 Hz on a 17-inch scale needs a lot of mass, and mass is the enemy of clarity — the fundamental comes out weak and the string sounds thumpier and less defined than the trebles above it. That is inherent to the format rather than a fault, though a fresh set helps more than you would expect. If it also reads slowly on the tuner, give the note a second to settle before you judge it.