Parts of a Ukulele: Labeled Diagram and What Each Part Does

A ukulele is one of the friendliest instruments to start on. It has only four soft nylon strings, it is light enough for a child to hold, and you can play real songs within a few days. Knowing the names of the parts helps from the very first lesson: teachers and videos say things like "press behind the second fret" or "check the saddle," and a chord chart only makes sense once you know which string is which. This guide walks down the ukulele from top to bottom, the same way the diagram does.

The headstock

• Headstock. The flat piece at the very top of the ukulele. It holds the tuning pegs. Many makers put their own shape on the top edge, so headstocks vary more than any other part.
• Tuning pegs. Also called tuners or tuning keys. There are four, one for each string, usually two on each side. Turning a peg tightens or loosens its string: tighter makes the note higher, looser makes it lower. Most modern ukuleles use geared tuners like a guitar's. Some traditional models use friction pegs, which point straight out the back of the headstock and hold by grip alone.
• Nut. The small white strip where the headstock meets the fretboard. It has a slot for each string, spaces the four strings evenly and holds them at the right height. It is one of the two points that set the length of each string; the saddle is the other.

The neck

• Neck. The long wooden arm between the headstock and the body. Your fretting hand (the left hand for most players) moves up and down it. Ukulele necks are short and slim, which is a big part of why they are so easy for small hands.
• Fretboard. Also called the fingerboard. The strip of darker wood glued to the front of the neck. You press the strings down against it to play notes and chords.
• Frets. The thin metal bars across the fretboard. Pressing a string just behind a fret makes the vibrating part of the string shorter, which raises its note. Each fret raises the note by one half step, so twelve frets take a string up one full octave.
• Fret markers. The dots on the fretboard, most often at the 5th, 7th and 10th frets, with another at the 12th (some ukuleles add one at the 3rd). They do not change the sound. They help you find your place at a glance. Some ukuleles also have small dots on the side of the neck, so you can see them while you play.
• Strings. Four strings, made of nylon or a similar material called fluorocarbon. They are much softer on the fingertips than the steel strings of an acoustic guitar.
• Neck joint. Where the neck meets the body. On a soprano ukulele this is often at the 12th fret; concert and tenor ukuleles often join the body at the 14th. The rounded block under the joint, on the back, is called the heel.

The body

• Body. The hollow wooden box. When you strum, the strings shake the thin top, and the body turns that small movement into the sound you hear. The body has a top (the front), a back and sides. Common woods are mahogany, sapele, acacia (the family Hawaiian koa belongs to), spruce and maple, and each gives a slightly different tone.
• Upper bout, waist and lower bout. The three curves of the body. The upper bout is the smaller curve near the neck, the waist is the narrow middle, and the lower bout is the wider curve at the bottom. Most ukuleles have this figure-eight shape. A few are shaped like a pineapple, a rounder oval body that players often describe as sounding a little fuller.
• Sound hole. The round opening in the top. It lets the sound out of the body.
• Rosette. The decorative ring around the sound hole. It looks good, and it also strengthens the top around the opening.
• Bridge. The wooden bar glued to the top below the sound hole. It anchors the strings and passes their vibration into the top. On many ukuleles each string is knotted and threaded through a hole in the bridge (a "tie bar" bridge). Others have slots that hold a knot or a bead on the end of the string.
• Saddle. The thin white strip sitting in the bridge. The strings rest on it. Its height sets how high the strings sit above the frets (players call this the "action"), and its position helps the ukulele play in tune higher up the neck.

Some ukuleles have a built-in pickup, called acoustic-electric ukuleles. They have all the parts above, plus a small output jack (usually where a strap button would go at the bottom of the body) so you can plug into an amplifier, and often a small control panel on the side with volume and tone knobs and a built-in tuner.

Ukulele string names: G C E A

A soprano, concert or tenor ukulele is tuned, from the string closest to your face to the string closest to the floor:

G · C · E · A

The classic way to remember it is the sentence "My Dog Has Fleas", sung to the four notes. Another is "Good Cats Eat Anchovies."

Strings are also numbered the other way round: the A string, nearest the floor, is string 1, and the G string, nearest your face, is string 4. Chord charts and tabs use those numbers, so it helps to know both.

Re-entrant tuning, explained simply

On a guitar, the strings go from lowest to highest in order: each string is higher than the one before it. A ukulele breaks that pattern on purpose. Its G string, the one on top, is tuned higher than the C string next to it. Only the A string is higher still.

So instead of running low to high like a staircase, the notes step back up at the start. That is what "re-entrant" means: the tuning re-enters higher after starting. It is why the G string looks thinner than you might expect, and it gives the ukulele its bright, sparkly, close-together chord sound. It also makes many chord shapes easy, which is good news for beginners.

Good to know: some players fit a thicker "low G" string instead, so the strings do run low to high. That gives a deeper, fuller sound and a few extra low notes. It is a matter of taste. Most songbooks and lessons for beginners assume the standard high G.

Ukulele sizes: soprano, concert, tenor and baritone

All four sizes have the same parts. What changes is the length of the strings (the "scale length", measured from the nut to the saddle), the size of the body, and so the sound and the feel. The figures below are typical; each maker's ukuleles vary slightly.

Which size should a beginner choose? For a young child, a soprano is the natural fit: it is small and light, and it is the size most school music programs use. For older children, teens and adults, a concert is a comfortable all-round choice, and players with bigger hands often prefer a tenor. A guitar player who wants to pick up a ukulele quickly may enjoy a baritone, because the chord shapes they already know work on it.

Because soprano, concert and tenor share the same G C E A tuning, every chord and song you learn on one size works on the others. Only the baritone uses different note names.

Caring for the parts

• New strings stretch. Nylon strings keep stretching for the first several days, so a new ukulele, or a new set of strings, goes out of tune often at first. That is normal. Retune each time you play, and it settles down. A clip-on tuner makes this quick.
• Watch the humidity. The body is thin wood. Very dry air, especially from winter heating, can make the wood shrink. Keeping the ukulele in its bag or case when you are not playing helps, and a small ukulele humidifier helps in dry climates.
• Wipe the strings and fretboard. A soft dry cloth after playing keeps the strings sounding fresh for longer.

Ukuleles to learn the parts on

Every ukulele below has the parts described in this guide. Prices and stock update automatically.

See every size in our ukulele department, or go straight to soprano, concert or tenor ukuleles. Keep it in tune with a ukulele tuner. Moving on to guitar? See the parts of a guitar and our guide to choosing the right size guitar for a child.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main parts of a ukulele?

The headstock, the neck and the body. The headstock holds the four tuning pegs; the neck carries the fretboard and frets; the body holds the sound hole, the bridge and the saddle.

What are the names of the 4 ukulele strings?

G, C, E, A, from the string nearest your face to the string nearest the floor. A popular way to remember them is "My Dog Has Fleas." The A string is string 1 and the G string is string 4.

Why is the G string on a ukulele higher than the C string?

That is re-entrant tuning. The G is tuned above the C on purpose, which keeps the chords close together and gives the ukulele its bright sound. Some players use a thicker "low G" string for a deeper sound instead.

What is the difference between soprano, concert, tenor and baritone ukuleles?

Size and sound. A soprano is about 21 inches long, a concert about 23, a tenor about 26 and a baritone about 30. The bigger the ukulele, the fuller and deeper it sounds and the more room there is between the frets. Soprano, concert and tenor are tuned G C E A; the baritone is tuned D G B E, like the top four strings of a guitar.

What size ukulele is best for a beginner?

A soprano suits young children best. A concert is a comfortable choice for older children, teens and adults, and a tenor suits players with larger hands. Since soprano, concert and tenor share the same tuning, everything you learn moves easily between them.

What is the difference between the bridge and the saddle on a ukulele?

The bridge is the wooden bar glued to the top that anchors the strings. The saddle is the thin white strip set into the bridge that the strings rest on. The saddle's height sets how high the strings sit above the frets.