Easy Ukulele Chords You Can Play With One Finger

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When people start playing the ukulele they can get a little intimidated by the difficulty of some of the chords they have to play. But there are plenty of easy ukulele chords out there - ones that can often be substituted for those that are a little two difficult to be played for a beginner. There is also a need for beginners to play more 'jazzy' chords. Often they are too intimidated to tackle these chords. However, they can often be easier to play than the standard chords. So, in this article I'll be going through a number of chords that use only one finger to play them and even two chords that require no fingers at all.

The C Chord

The first chord that most new ukulele players learn to play is the C chord. This chord is played just by putting your ring finger on the A string (i.e. the one nearest the floor) at the third fret. You should put your finger on the string between the second and third fret bar from the neck end of the ukulele. The other strings are all played in the open position (i.e. not fretted at all). In ukulele terms, this chord is written like this: 0003

The Am Chord

The Am chord (short for A minor) is played by placing your middle finger on the second fret of the G string (the one nearest your head. The other strings are left to play open. This is written as 2000

Open String Chords

If you are feeling particularly lazy, you can strum all the strings open. This will give you a chord which can be seen in two ways. It can be a C6 chord or in can be an Am7 chord. Which of these chords it is depends on the context. The chord makes a great substitute for the C chord (when it is a C6) and for Am (when it is an Am7). So if you see either a C or an Am listed in a chord chart you can play all the strings open and it will give you a more jazzy sound. It will also give your fingers a rest!

The A7 Chord

The A7 chord is another standard ukulele chord that can be played using just one finger. You need to place your index finger (or pointer if you prefer) on the first fret of the C string (the second string down). The A7 chord makes for a great substitute for the A chord in songs that are in the key of D.

The Fsus2 Chord

Fsus2 is a very jazzy sounding chord, so you have to be quite careful how you use it. It is played by putting your index finger on the first fret of the E string. The best way to use it is to switch between F and Fsus2 whilst playing. This is a trick that Zack Condon of Beirut often uses.

The easy ukulele chords in this article should be no trouble to master. There's nothing that should stop you physically playing them. So have a go at building them into your chord playing repertoire.