To play this chord, place your first finger on the second fret of the third string. Your first/index finger goes on the first fret of the second string. To play this resonant chord, place your second finger on the second fret of the fourth string. To play the Am chord, place your second/middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string. You should get a clear tone as you strum straight down. Rest your finger right in front of the fret bar without touching it. To play the C chord, place your third/ring finger on the third fret of the first string. The C chord is probably the easiest chord to play on the ukulele. For example, use your second finger (the middle finger) on the second fret. When playing chords, a good rule of thumb is one finger per fret. Major and minor chords are simply different colors for your paintbrush. “Major” and “minor” refer to the quality of sound.Ī common cliche is that major chords sound happy and minor chords sound sad. Some of the most common chords in popular music are C Major, A Minor, F Major, G Major, D Major, and E Minor. They turn simple melodies into memorable songs. Ukulele ChordsĬhords are three or more notes played at the same time. Occasionally you will see little “Xs.” These mean don’t play (mute) that string. The small circles look like the letter “o.” They indicate strings that aren’t fretted and played “open.” At the top of the diagram, you will see the chord spelling and small circles or “X’s.” A dot on the string means this should be fretted, or pressed down to the fretboard using a finger. The fretted notes are displayed as black dots on the diagram. The “g” will be to the left and the “A” to the right.Ī chord diagram displays the four strings and the first four frets of the ukulele. Most chord diagrams you come across will be a display of the uke upright and held out in front of you. Reading chord diagrams can be confusing for beginners. The number of frets your ukulele has depends on what size instrument you have.īad pun time: Don’t you fret, learning an instrument makes you smarter! Reading Chord Diagrams By holding down the strings near the fret bars and some strumming patterns, you produce a tone. If you want to learn some sweet ukulele songs, proper tuning is a must.Įxample songs that would be best for Ukulele are:įrets are the spaces between the vertical lines along the neck of your ukulele.
You will need special strings to tune your ukulele in this way. This makes it the lowest note on the uke and fills out the bass sound. Linear tuning uses the “G” tuned an octave down. Some people prefer a linear tuning method. This high “g” lies between the E and A on the scale. Many ukuleles are in tune with what’s called “re-entrant tuning.” This means the fourth string isn’t the lowest note. Notice the little “g” for the first string. The strings are illustrated as vertical lines (from left to right standard G C E A string) and the frets are the horizontal lines. This is because they all use the same traditional tuning. Most information you see online will be for the soprano, concert, and tenor ukuleles. If you’re going to play the ukulele, you need to know the basics.
(That means “play them,” for all you serious types!) Ukulele Chord Basics
#PLAYING TAB FOR UKULELE HOW TO#
Keep reading to discover some pretty cool ukulele chords and how to harness their island magic. The key is to break the complexities down into bite-sized pieces. Sometimes it may even feel like you’ll never get better.ĭid you know it only takes 20 hours to learn anything? This won’t make you a uke virtuoso but you will be able to have fun and play your favorite songs. Learning an instrument is rewarding but also comes with a fair share of frustrations.
If you’re a newbie, that probably sounds overwhelming. There are literally hundreds of basic ukulele chords to choose from. Ease into it with this guide on how to read and play ukulele chords or take ukulele lessons with Merriam Music. If the ukulele is your first instrument, learning it can be overwhelming at the start.