Beginners should focus on learning these chords as they are easy to finger and provide a solid basis for songs. Make sure all strings sound clearly before practising the chord – any mutes should be corrected immediately with finger adjustments.
Doing this will allow chord shapes to easily come back into your memory.
E Major
Before moving on to more complex techniques like fingerpicking or playing songs from ukulele tabs, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the most frequent chords and make sure each is fingered correctly to prevent muted or muffled notes.
Most ukulele chord charts will include dots on the fretboard to indicate which finger should fret; occasionally these charts also include small circles or crosses that indicate whether strings should be played or muted.
C Major
C major is an ideal starting point for learning major scales as it does not involve much finger repositioning on or off of the neck. Furthermore, it helps with developing understanding of whole steps and half steps – essential concepts when dealing with chords and progressions.
All major chords (and scales) contain an assortment of perfect, minor and major intervals; you can visualize this by gazing upon a piano keyboard without its black keys.
G Major
G Major chord is an invaluable starting point for beginners as it can be found in many popular songs. To practice it effectively, try finding a backing track containing four notes that comprise G Major and developing melodic ideas over it.
G Major contains one sharp note – F-sharp. Fortunately, this note stands alone among all its natural notes in this scale.
F Major
F major is one of the easiest ukulele chords to learn and one of the most frequently played. Chord charts illustrate where to place your fingers on the fretboard and whether a particular string should ring out or remain silent.
This Blink song is easy for novice musicians to pick up. A regular DD UD UDU strumming pattern works well to accompany this upbeat tune.
D Major
D major scale has two sharps, F and C; however, as D is a relative major of F minor it does not contain any additional flats.
D chords are ubiquitous and can be found in numerous popular songs. Example 3 demonstrates a basic open D shape in second position with its lowest D on string six’s sixth fret – making this chordal structure very accessible for use within music compositions.
A Major
Learn to read music in a major key using the Circle of Fifths as an effective way to build key signature skills and memorize notes.
Though less common in orchestral literature than compositions written with more sharps, this key has long been utilized by composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn – who all wrote works using it containing three sharps.
B Major
B Major is one of the more difficult beginner chords, yet an essential one to have under your fingers. As it often appears in songs, learning it early will serve you well!
The B Major scale consists of five sharps and is played over two octaves. Its intervals can be remembered easily using an easy mnemonic.
C Minor
Expanding your chord repertoire is one of the best ways to strengthen your ukulele playing, and C minor (also written Cm) is an easily learned barre chord that can add unexpected emotion to your songs.
Practice this chord shape until you can confidently perform it, being mindful to keep your fingers relaxed; tension may lead to discomfort or poor technique, leading to serious difficulties for performance.
G Minor
G minor is a popular key with an emotional and reflective tone, making it an effective musical tool when combined with emotive chord progressions.
G Minor uses similar fingerings to major chords, with two flats B and E added for extra variation and effects. By learning its scales, inversions, voicings and effects you will open up many creative avenues in your music!
E Minor
E Minor is an expressive key with an emotional sound, ideal for many songs and compositions.
Ukulele chord diagrams feature thick lines representing frets, while small circles or the letter “o” at the end of those lines indicate open strings that should remain undramped for strumming purposes.
This ukulele chord includes the notes E, G sharp (G#), and B. Give it a try and see what happens!