Now that you have the shape of the chord ready, it’s time to strum all four strings and play the C chord on your ukulele. Similarly, when referring to the four ukulele strings (G, C, E and A), we can speak of the first string, second string, third string and fourth string. The number 2 would refer to your middle finger, number 3 to ring finger and 4 to your pinky finger. The number 1 shown in this ukulele chord chart means that you’ll be playing the A string with your index finger. To finger the string, use your index finger to hold down the third fret. When playing the C chord you’ll have to finger the third fret of the A string. The first fret is the space between the nut and the first horizontal line of the ukulele fretboard, while the second fret is the one below that and so forth. ![]() The horizontal lines on the ukulele chord chart are used to represent the frets of the ukulele. If the chord diagram has a cross on top of the diagram instead of an ‘o’, this string shouldn’t be played at all. These are used to represent open strings.Īs we already learned, a string is played open when it’s allowed to ring freely without fingering the string. ![]() In the C chord diagram above you’ll also notice some small circles, or the letter ‘o’, on top of the thick horizontal line. The nut is a part that helps to align the instrument’s strings to the tuning pegs. In this chord diagram you’ll notice that there is a thicker line on top of the diagram. Here we’re assuming that you’re playing a standard 4-string ukulele and using the standard G-C-E-A tuning. Moving to the right we have the rest of the strings: C, E and A. The G string is also the one closest to your face when holding the ukulele. The four vertical lines represent the four strings of the ukulele: the one on the left is the thickest G string. On top you can see the name of the chord (that’s C). ![]() Let’s look at a simple ukulele chord diagram (or a chord chart) for the C chord. Reading ukulele chord diagrams and chord charts These will be a valuable tool when learning new ukulele chords to play, so it’s worth spending some time to learn how to read these. First, let’s look at how to read ukulele chord diagrams, also known as ukulele chord charts. Next you can start to finger some of your first basic ukulele chords and learn some simple chord shapes. Before introducing any complex strumming patterns, try playing all four strings of the ukulele open and then try strumming upwards. When strumming a string without pressing it down, you’re playing the string ‘open’. Just use the thumb of your strumming hand (your right hand if you’re right-handed or your left hand in case you’re a leftie) and strum all four strings downwards. To get a hang of strumming the ukulele’s four strings (these are G-C-E-A starting from the thickest string), try strumming all four strings at the same time. With ukulele chords this means playing three or more notes simultaneously. Like with guitar chords, in order to play a ukulele chord you’ll have to play more than one string at the same time. Soon you’ll be familiar with the basic chords for ukulele and strumming chords like a pro. We’ll walk you through some of the best basic ukulele chords as well as how to read ukulele chord diagrams. In case you don’t know what a ukulele chord is or what is the difference between a minor chord and a major chord, don’t worry. These are the ones you’ll be using in most popular songs for the ukulele and ones even the most advanced ukulele players have started their playing career learning. Before getting to some more advanced playing techniques, such as fingerpicking and playing with ukulele tabs, you’ll have to learn how to play the basic ukulele chords. So, how to get started then, you might be asking. It is a versatile instrument and you can do some truly magical things with it, as long as you know how to play, that is. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the ukulele. For example, you can find a fairly good ukulele at a reasonable price whereas many other instruments can cost you quite a bit. Whether you already know how to play other stringed instruments such as the guitar or in case you’re still a newcomer, you have chosen a great instrument to learn.Įspecially for beginners, the ukulele is a good choice as the first instrument to start with. So you’ve decided to pick up the ukulele and start learning some of your favorite songs with this small four stringed instrument.
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