Tips And Tricks On How To Play Ukulele Chords
Playing ukulele has become one of the coolest and hippest things to do. If you’re not playing ukulele all I can say is, “Why Not?” Everywhere I turn people have an ukulele, it doesn’t matter if at school, the beach, or at the Toyota dealership getting my oil changed. Yes, that’s right I actually jammed with a dude while waiting to my oil changed in my Tacoma truck.
The first step is deciding on what kind of ukulele you want: soprano, concert, tenor, or baritone. Once you make your decision one of the first challenges you will face is how to play ukulele chords. You will soon realize that some of the chords, like the C chord or the A minor chord simply only use 1 finger to play. But, other chords like the E chord or the Bb chord require 4 fingers to play and may cause more pain than pleasure.
I would like to spend a little time going over some tips and tricks that will help you master ukulele chords. Remember chords lead to songs, songs lead to jamming, and jamming leads to having a blast.
The very first ukulele chords I would learn are the C, G, A minor and Fchords. Not only are these some of the easiest chords to play, but they are the most popular and you will see in hundreds, no thousands, no millions of songs. Ok, well at least thousands. Would you like a little taste on songs that use these chords? Ok you asked for it: “Let It Be” by The Beatles, “Holliday” by Green Day, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, “Hair” by Lady Gaga, “Demons” by Imagine Dragons, “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line, “Hello” by Adele, “Innocent” by Taylor Swift, “Dammit” by Blink 182, “Numb” by Linkin Park, “My Name Is Jonas” by Weezer, “Under The Bridge” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, “With or Without You” by U2, “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. Get the idea? The list literally goes on and on.
There are 2 tips that I can give you to play chords quickly and clearly. First, you must and I say MUST memorize the chords. That may seem like a gigantic task since there are tons of ukulele chords. So, let’s take baby steps. Start with these 4 chords, the C, G, A minor, and F. Do whatever it takes to get them memorized: make flash cards with the chords on them, download a chord app that will quiz you, or simply put the time in. Chords are easy once you play them enough times. Like my mentor says, “sets and reps.” Yes, this is a term used in the gym when lifting weights but it applies to anything. By repetition you will develop muscle memory and then your fingers will go to the right strings and frets automatically once your brain says “play the C chord.” I have literally played these chords thousands of times and my fingers now go there effortlessly.
The next thing is that you must play with proper left hand technique (right hand if you’re a left-handed ukulele player). To properly hold the chords on the ukulele you must play using your fingertips. To accomplish this, make sure that all your knuckles are bend or “rounded” so that only the tips of your fingers plays each string and fret. Many times, we will play with the “pads” of our fingers and this will cause not only improper technique but also cause your fingers to touch more than one string at a time and will cause an unwanted “muted” sound.
If you can follow these 2 easy steps you will be on your way to playing chords and jamming your favorite songs on the ukulele. For now, good luck and keep on pickin’
