How To Read Ukulele Chords

If the ukulele is tuned to another tuning the tab will usually indicate this as you ll see that the pitch that each string is tuned to sits directly to the left of the tab.

How to read ukulele chords. This is mostly used when people try to show you what the rhythm and tempo is. These diagrams show proper fingering for various ukulele chords but there are a few prerequisites to master before you can read them. Make sure you know basic ukulele tuning. Unless they indicate otherwise ukulele chord charts and diagrams assume the standard c tuning of g c e a. So the four numbers refer to each string of the ukulele order.

The thick horizontal line at the top represents the nut of the ukulele. This is incredibly useful to quickly tell someone how to play a certain chord. The second example in this guide would be. If you hold the tab on top of the fretboard in this way the strings will match. In the example above you would place your first finger on the 5th fret and your ring finger on the 7th.

To visualize it better imagine you set your ukulele down flat on a table strings facing up and headstock to your left. It s important to drag the string as this will amplify the sound of the note. In this guide we will go over basic ukulele chords major and minor and how to read them from chord charts. Vertical lines represent the strings of the ukulele starting with the g string on the far left moving to the a string on the far right. If you are new to the ukulele it can be quite overwhelming especially if this is the first instrument you have ever played.

The wonderful thing about tab is that it is incredibly easy to learn to read. Tune your ukulele s fourth string is tuned to g making it the g string the third string to c making it the c string the second string to e making it the e string and the first string is tuned to a making. The parts of the chord diagram are as follows. Most of the tab you will find on the internet is for a ukulele tuned to g c e a tuning. To read ukulele tabs note that the tab chart has 4 horizontal lines that correspond to the 4 strings on your instrument.

While holding both the frets pluck the string and then drag your ring finger off. When you hold your ukelele up to your body the g string will be the closest to your head and the a string will be closest to your waist but on your tab chart a is at the top and g is at the bottom. Here you can see the following chords. Xa 0 2 3 0 3 2 xe 1 3 0 0 2 1 xc 0 2 0 0 2 2 xg 2 0 0 2 2 0. The g string is on the bottom and the a string is on the top.