Ukulele Anatomy Guide: 10 Parts of a Standard Ukulele

The best ukuleles are built by luthiers—the same artisans who make guitars, lutes, and other stringed instruments. Mass market ukuleles are made by a combination of workers and machines in large factories. These factories source ukulele parts from around the globe.

As with the makers of guitars, bass guitars, mandolins, and banjos, ukulele makers assemble their instruments from several different parts, gluing the pieces together or joining them with metal screws. Ideally, a ukulele has a neck and body that are made from solid wood, with nylon strings or metal-wound strings. Some beginner ukuleles are plastic, but the plastic produces nowhere near the resonance of wood. A good middle ground between solid-wood ukuleles and plastic ukuleles are those made from laminate, a multi-layer wood composite held together with a heavy amount of wood resin.

Each part of the ukulele plays a key role in the sound the instrument produces.

1. 1. Body: The body of the ukulele is made from thin pieces of wood glued together. The sides of the ukulele provide structure, while the bottom and top of the body vibrate to produce resonant sound. Traditional Hawaiian ukuleles are often made of koa wood, but spruce and mahogany are also common tonewoods. Note that different types of ukuleles have different sized bodies: The soprano ukulele is the smallest ukulele size, followed by the concert ukulele, tenor ukulele, baritone ukulele, and bass ukulele.
2. 2. Soundboard: The soundboard is the top surface of the ukulele body. It vibrates at the frequency of the strings, amplifying the sound. Most soundboards are made from koa, acacia, or sitka spruce.
3. 3. Soundhole: This round hole in the soundboard further amplifies the vibration of ukulele strings and enables the ukulele to project sound.
4. 4. Neck: The neck of the ukulele is usually made from a single piece of wood (often koa), to which the fretboard is glued.
5. 5. Fretboard: A fretboard, or fingerboard, sits on top of the ukulele neck. It contains individual frets—strips of metal that signify specific pitches up and down the neck. Most ukulele fretboards are made of rosewood. Most fretboards have fret markers—little dots that help players keep track of what number fret they are on.
6. 6. Headstock: The headstock attaches at the end of the neck and flares out wider than the neck itself. It contains tuners for adjusting the pitches of the ukulele strings.
7. 7. Tuners: Ukulele tuners (sometimes called tuning machines or tuning keys) contain multiple parts, including tuning pegs and machine heads. They adjust the tension of the strings to either raise or lower their pitches. Tuners are drilled into the headstock of the ukulele.
8. 8. Nut: The nut is a piece of bone or plastic with small notches that keep each string in place when a player strums ukulele chords and plucks out single notes. The nut is located where the ukulele headstock meets the neck.
9. 9. Bridge: A standard bridge is glued to the top of the ukulele body. It is the endpoint for the strings, which wrap around the bottom of the bridge, thread through small holes, and rest on the bridge saddle.
10. 10. Heel: The heel is where the ukulele neck meets the ukulele body. For ukulele players who use a strap, a strap button attaches to the ukulele heel.

A standard ukulele has four strings, traditionally tuned so that the open strings sound a C6 chord.

• The first string: Tune this top string to A4. Called the A string, it has the highest pitch of the strings.
• The second string: Tune this string to E4. Also known as the E string, it has the second-lowest pitch of the strings.
• The third string: Tune the next string up is to C4. Sometimes called the C string, the third string has the lowest pitch of the strings.
• The fourth string: Tune this bottom string to G4. Typically, this string is called the G string. Some players call this string "low G," but it is actually the second-highest pitch of all the strings.

Grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, stretch out those fingers, and get your strum on with a little help from the Jimi Hendrix of ‘ukulele, Jake Shimabukuro. With some pointers from this Billboard chart topper, you’ll be an expert on chords, tremolo, vibrato, and more in no time.