Types of `Ukulele Chords

Open position chords, movable form chords, 4-part "jazz" chords, and free form chords.

Published: 02 Jan 2005 Updated: 19 Jul 2024Visits: 409Code: UL114

Category: ChordsInstrument: Chords Subjects: Chords • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced • Core

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Types of `Ukulele Chords


That is what you'll be doing the most of when playing the ukulele - "Playing Chords".

Naturally, for ukulele, all chords need to be voiced using only the four strings available. You would think that this is limiting when in actuality it's quite liberating when you learn the makeup of chords. This lesson covers the types of chords possible on ukulele.

Chords can be categorized in to four categories: open position chords, movable form chords, 4-part - a.k.a. jazz chords, and free form chords.

Open Position Chords

Open Position chords are the basic first chords most players learn. There are the chords in the first one, two, three, and four frets of the ukulele, and they include at least one open string. Learn about 19 open-position chords, and you'll be able to play a load of songs.

Basic Movable Form Chords

Movable Form Chords are the basic open-position chords, re-fingered to allow transposition of the additional keys. The first movable form chord players typically learn is Bb.

Traditional and Contemporary Triads

Triads — At the heart of most chords, there is a major, minor, diminished, or augmented triad. These are the fundamental, traditional three-note chords that have been around for centuries. The basic major and minor Open Position and Movable Form chords were triads with a duplication of one of the notes in the chord.

“Jazz” Chords

These chords are simply 4-part Contemporary Chords used in a wide variety of music, and this is where you start to learn how chords are constructed and where they come from. Beyond a core set of chords, this is where you'll start to realize that there are too many shapes to memorize all the possible chord shapes. You need to build and derive all your chords from a core foundation of chords.

Free Form Chords

It’s just the notes!!!

Free Form chords are those chords that do not fall into one of the other categories. They typically don't show up in chord dictionaries or software programs. You can create these chords when you know the notes of the ukulele fingerboard, know how chords are constructed, and know the names of the notes in the chord and the intervals that make up the chord.

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UL42-misc-t

Transposing Individual `Ukulele Chords

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Open Position Chords

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UL114b

Basic Movable Form Chords

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UL114c

Traditional and Contemporary Triads

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4-part Contemporary Chords, a.k.a. Jazz Chords

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Free Form Chords

"Free Form" chords are those chords that do not fall into one of the other chord categories. They typically don't show up in chord dictionaries or software programs.

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