How to Read a Ukulele Chord Chart
A ukulele is a stringed instrument that falls into the lute family. The ukulele originated in Hawaii and gained popularity in other parts of the U.S. in the 20th century, made famous by such players as Tiny Tim. The ukulele, sometimes known as a chordophone, has four nylon strings. Ukulele players typically play their instruments by making chords and plucking the strings individually. Here's how you can learn to read chord charts for a ukulele.
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Instructions
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Determine the type of ukulele you have. There are four: soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The soprano ukelele is the most common and referred to as a standard ukulele. There are a variety of tunings possible for ukuleles. The most common tuning for the standard soprano ukulele is G-C-E-A, reading the thickest string from left to right. Tune your ukulele with a digital tuner to ensure you are tuned correctly.
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Purchase a chord chart for ukulele from a music store. You can also find them online at no charge (see Resources). Make sure the chord chart you use is for the type of ukulele you own and in the same tuning as your ukulele. This will ensure you interpret the chords correctly.
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Get familiar with ukulele chord charts. A ukulele chord chart is a graph representation of the neck of the ukulele, just as guitar chord charts represent the neck of a guitar. The graph has four lines that represent the ukulele strings, with the thickest on the left and the thinnest on the right. The name of the chord you play will be written above the graph. Numbers running along the left side of the graph indicate fret numbers. Black dots placed on the lines representing strings tell you where to place your fingers to form a chord. An X on a line means to deaden the string. A circle at the top of the graph tells you to play the string open, without putting your finger on a fret. If there is no marking on a string, the string isn't played at all.
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