Ukulele Chord Diagrams

After I started playing ukulele, I realized that I needed a way to create my own song arrangements. There are numerous web sites that offer chord arrangements for songs, many specifically geared to ukulele. We all know that Dr Uke 's Songs and Richard G's Songbook are great sources of ukulele arrangements. And of course, Chordie.com has everything.

But I'm not always satisfied, especially with Chordie. Chordie often provides a good starting point, but I always want to do things differently. There are always multiple ways to finger every chord, and often, there's a better sounding alternative to the standard open fingering used in most song arrangements. Here's an example of the three main chords in the key of D, using my favorite alternative form of A7:

To prepare your own chord arrangements for your favorite songs, you need a couple of things. First, a good word processor. LibreOffice Writer is my choice since it has full-fledged desktop publishing features. It also runs on a variety of different operating systems.

Second, you need a source of graphics for the chord diagrams. One way to do that is to download the chord graphics from a site like Chordie.com. But finding all the diagrams you need can be tedious. If you're technically oriented, you can figure out a way to download them all, but then you'd have a torrent of files to sort through. And you still won't get diagrams for alternatives, such as the 0454 A7 (pictured above).

And so, I created my own chord diagrams, which you can download from my Ukulele Chord Box Collection. There are six collections to choose from, with chords geared to standard GCEA tuning, ADF#B tuning, and standard baritone tuning. In addition, there are left-handed variations for them all. The diagrams come in two sizes: 48x64 pixels and 36x54 pixels.

I've made these available under a Creative Commons License, so you can do what you want with them. If you find these chord diagrams useful and want to show your appreciation, there's a Paypal link on the download page where you can donate $10. I certainly won't get rich from these donations, but $10 will pay for a couple of beers at the Royal Tavern, where we hold our monthly ukulele jam in Kingston.

Using LibreOffice Writer, I usually include the chord names within parentheses within the song lyrics, and highlight the chord names in red. I then put the chord diagrams at the bottom of the page. If there's no room at the bottom, I add a frame to the side, and put the chord diagrams there. With a folder view of the chord diagrams open, I drag and drop the image into the document. With a right mouse click on the image, I choose "Anchor", and then select "As character". I then cut and paste to position the diagram where I want.

Cheers! Hans

Ukulele Shortcuts

Is the best place to play ukulele on a sandy beach? I think so. Likewise, overlooking the lake is a good spot to write about ukulele. In this epistle, I describe some of my favorite tips and techniques. There's no particular order to these tips. Some make things easier while playing. After all, aren't we all a bit lazy? Well, we should be.

First, if you have to play Bm, how many of you just fake it with Bm7 instead? Bm is one of the lesser used chords in the key of G. But I've found that Bm7 works just as nicely, and often adds bit of a jazz feel to the song. And it's just a simple barre at the 2nd fret.

If you're playing in the key of D, the usual chords in a three chord song are D, G, and A7. The usual open A7 is one of the easier chords. But there's an interesting alternative to the open 0100 fingering: 0454. Why is this fingering worth considering? In a three-chord song in the key of D, you're often changing from G to A7. With your fingers on G, A7 can be played simply by moving your fingers up two frets. That is, you keep the fingers in the same shape, but move from 0232 to 0454.

Those who know me know that I'm a big fan of the suspended chords. When you're playing one chord for a couple of bars, throwing in a suspended chord for one strum can provide interest and color to your song. And if you have G and D chords in a song, all the better since both sus2 and sus4 are easily reached when playing G and D. Csus4 (0013) is also easy. I often find that Cadd9 (0203) is an acceptable, and easier alternative to Csus2 (0233).

Now consider the dreaded E major chord. Many people play the barred 4447 form instead of 4442. That's a common short-cut, but I find it is often too high compared to other chords, especially if the other chords in the song are open chords. But consider, there's already an open E on the ukulele. Why don't the common chord charts list the open E major chord, 1402? We already play the open E7, 1202. Why is the 1402 fingering not well known? Unlike other open chords, it's not even an inversion. I suspect the reason is that, unlike other open chords, the 1402 has two identical notes side by side, and when played, it doesn't quite sound as full as other open chords where the identical notes are separated. The 1402 might not be the easiest fingering. But I think most people will find it easier than 4442.

What are some of your favorite techniques?

Cheers! Hans

The Song Remains the Same

Are you unsatisfied with current trends in music? Although good music has always been produced, does it seem to you that there's less and less good music coming out these days? Well, you're not alone. Joan Serrà and his colleagues at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in Barcelona have studied music over the past few decades, and their conclusions show that music has become more homogenous over time. And louder too. You can read about their research at The Economist.

Granted, it's hard to find good music these days. And perhaps my age is showing too. The defining style of music for me was the New Wave of the late 1970's. The early 1970's featured a lot of good music, but nothing that really spoke to me the way the music of Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie, and B-52's did. In the 1980's, I explored other musical genres, like jazz and classical. But other pressures increasingly hampered my ability to keep up with current events in music. But most of what I did hear in the 1990's and 2000's wasn't especially noteworthy, in my opinion. 

Fast forward to Christmas 2007, when I got my first ukulele, an inexpensive Beaver Creek. I fell in love again with music. Sure, I tried my hand at guitar when I was young. But I lost interest after a while, especially once I tried practicing the barred chords. But the ukulele was something else. Four strings, four fingers - what could make more sense? The neat thing about the uke is that it's easy to form the chords. And not just the basic chords. In many cases, more esoteric chords aren't that difficult either. Practice helps immensely, of course. However, the success rate at learning chords, and the ease of playing barred chords, makes it possible for anyone to master songs that use more than just your basic chords.

What's the point of today's missive? I suppose it's this: More musicians should learn ukulele. With it's ease of learning and playing, I would suggest that it's easier to explore different and original chord sequences on the uke. Have you ever wondered where the diminished chords have gone? They were very common in the early 20th Century. How come we don't see them very often today?

Think of the songs of George Harrison, and note that he was a big fan of the ukulele. I wonder how many of his songs were inspired from just noodling on the uke? If you have a uke handy, try out this iconic chord sequence, one strum per chord:

Familiar? Should be. It's from one of his most famous songs! And the rest of this song can be played just as easily. And not just the chords. The melody line of this song is easily played as well.

For some time now, I've been wondering what the next big trend in music will be. Will we ever again see some new movement as sweeping and refreshing as the late 1970's New Wave? Is there enough cohesiveness among music fans to give a New New Wave a chance in today's fragmented entertainment environment? Or will commercial interests continue to foist blandness upon us?

I call on all songwriters and musicians to turn back the tide. Let's bring back variety and interest to our songs. Have all the songs already been written? No, of course not. There's a whole slew of new chord sequences to explore. And the ukulele can help you to explore them.

Cheers! Hans

Ukelele-Banjo: First Impressions

About two weeks ago, I added to my modest collection of musical instruments. I must confess that I've always wanted a banjo. And admit it: You want one too!

This instrument is a banjo-ukulele. But in my opinion, that name is a misnomer. It is a banjo, not a ukulele. So a more appropriate name would be "ukulele-banjo". The instrument I bought has almost all the characteristics of a banjo. The only differences are the nylon strings, a neck the same length as a concert ukulele, and tuned the same as ukulele.

You can play the uke-banjo more or less like a ukulele. However, while the ukulele is a very forgiving instrument, which make it so easy to play for beginners, the uke-banjo is much less so. It seems like any touch to the instrument can make a sound. So although it's a sturdy instrument, it's best to handle it with care.

Unlike the ukulele, strumming the uke-banjo really needs a more nuanced approach. Of course, you can get a really loud sound out of the instrument. And while that's appropriate in some cases, often you have to apply a lighter touch to your strumming. But you can play with rhythms by varying the strength of strum. For example, on some songs you can do a light strum, but emphasize every other beat by doing a harder strum.

Regarding repertoire, I've had to go through all of my song books to see what songs work. Probably not surprisingly, not all songs work well on the uke-banjo. Or perhaps I just haven't figured out how to make them work. On my regular ukulele, I've been leaning towards a more bluesy feel to my songs. But that doesn't work on a banjo. So far, I've been looking for songs I can play fast. Songs that work well include "Farewell to Nova Scotia" and "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am". In general, a lot of old classic folk songs seem well suited to uke-banjo. Recent pop songs don't work nearly as well.

Finally, since this instrument is much louder than a conventional ukulele, you have to be more considerate of those you live with. Finding an appropriate time and place to practice may be more of a challenge. And while a new instrument may be a novelty in the home, that novelty can wear off fast. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates the charm of this type of instrument.

In conclusion, this instrument is a lot of fun. It is well suited to up-beat music, and has a wonderful sound. In a Peanuts cartoon, Charles Schulz offered the opinion: "As soon as a child is born, he should be issued a banjo". Make that a uke-banjo, and I agree whole-heartedly!

Cheers! Hans

Ukulele Strumming for the Beginner

I'm not sure if I feel comfortable giving advice on learning to play the ukulele. After all, there are lots of other people much more qualified to teach ukulele. However, I can pass along some of the things I've learned from the masters, such as James Hill and Hal Brolund. The latter rolls through southern Ontario a couple of times a year offering workshops. If you have the chance to attend a workshop run by either of these two, do it!

If you're picking up a ukulele for the first time, read on. Many beginners seem to worry most about learning the chords. And sure, that's important. But that will happen over time. The first priority when learning ukulele is rhythm. That is, keeping a steady beat while strumming. I've seen beginners play like this: They strum four beats, then pause while they change the chord, and then strum another four beats. When playing together with others, even if that pause is very short, it can still be disruptive for the group.

The point is this: When strumming on a ukulele, maintain the beat. Even if it takes a beat to fully establish your left hand fingers in their proper chord position, don't let up on that beat.

Now let's get down to a lesson. To start with, count out a simple 4/4 rhythm: One, two, three, four, one two, three, four, and so on. On each count, strum the fingernail of your index finger down across the strings, roughly at the point where the neck of the ukulele meets the body. Don't worry about the chord. An open C will do nicely. Practice that for a few minutes. Tapping your foot as you strum might help you maintain the rhythm.

Next, count out: One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four, and so on. Strum as before, but on the "and", strum your finger up across the strings. You're now doing both down-strokes and up-strokes. Again, practice this for a while to develop a smooth rhythm.

Next, you can try some more complicated rhythms. While strumming your hand down on the count and up on the "and", try omitting a strum. That is, keep your hand moving down and up in rhythm, but at certain points in the strumming pattern, your finger misses the strings. Here are some possible strumming patterns to practice. Skip the strums marked by parentheses.

• down (up) down up (down) up down up repeat.
• down up (down) up down up down up repeat.
• down (up) (down) up (down) up down up repeat.

Yeah, I know you're itching to practice those chord changes. The point of practicing your strumming is to make it second nature. Playing ukulele involves coordination between one hand strumming and the other making chord changes. The more you practice your strumming, the more natural the movement becomes. Once that becomes second nature, you can then better concentrate on the chords. Heck, even Manitoba Hal's recommended practice regimen for beginners includes five minutes of just this kind of strumming!

I'm Shopping For A New Ukulele!

A while ago, we decided to move from Toronto to Kingston. We sold our house in Toronto, bought a house in Kingston, and planned and implemented the move. The last step in the process was for me to find a job in Kingston. We knew that wasn't going to be easy. Kingston is a much smaller place, with less demand for programmers. As motivation, I decided that one of the things I would buy with my first paycheck would be a new ukulele. Well, I can now shop for that ukulele! I start my new job on Monday!

How did I get to this point? My "sabbatical" started getting a bit too long. So back in the Fall, I went to the KEYS Job Centre for advice. To start with, my councilor gave me some great advice on resume writing. She also recommended the MCF Kingston Practice Firm. What's a practice firm? It operates very much like a real company, allowing participants to gain real work experience, albeit without a salary. But in addition, participants are expected to spend time searching for jobs and learning the skills needed to look for work. I decided to give it a try.

I decided to concentrate on developing skills in PHP, since that's used by some local firms. I was assigned the task of developing a new software system for the local Operation Red-Nose organization to replace an old DOS-based application. I visited their operation on New Years Eve, and for what they were doing with that ancient program, they could just as easily be doing everything on paper.

To cut a longish story short, what I had implemented in five weeks using PHP and CakePHP, I had originally expected to spend most of my 12 week stint at MCF working on. Within weeks, I was able to confidently add PHP to my resume. I had expected to be at MCF longer. But an opportunity arose, I sent off my resume and cover letter, and I went for an interview and testing. I accepted an offer, and finished my stay at MCF after just those five weeks. Granted, there's still more work left to do on the ORN project. But I expect to finish that in my spare time.

What have I learned from this? First, that CakePHP is a great way to implement a web-based application. Some point out that it has a harder learning curve than other PHP frameworks. And sure, you need to understand why the framework insists on doing things a certain way. But having strong conventions is not a bad thing. In all, I think CakePHP was a good choice for that project.

Second, it helped me convince myself that the things I wrote in my resume were true. I can learn new skills. I got the skills. I know what I'm doing. I demonstrated that nicely with the ORN project. Sometimes it seems we can forget what we're capable of, and lose confidence in ourselves. Especially when between jobs.

In my previous job, I used Zope and Plone, but without ever really reaching the point of fully mastering those frameworks. I took that job because it offered me the chance to use my favorite programming language, Python. But while I still love that language, I would never recommend using Zope. We just could never get the Zope-based project to where we needed to be, partly due to the complexity of the framework, and also due to some nasty intermittent bugs. These were the kinds of bugs that you could never really be sure you fixed. And no one should have to depend on that kind of system.

(Fortunately, the Zope-based project was shelved. Unfortunately, development moved on to an ambitious .net based system, which is not really a good place to be for a Linux/Unix geek. Frankly, I was glad that moving to another city offered me a good excuse to quit that job.)

But now my new job beckons, and I'm really looking forward to it. From what I've seen so far, it seems like a really great place to work, and I know I can make a difference there. And soon, I expect to add a new ukulele to my modest collection. A banjo-ukulele perhaps?

Later, dudes!

Building Your Own Ukulele Chords

When learning the ukulele, one of the first challenges is learning the chords. One page chord charts become indispensable for the beginner. (Here's one.) However, as you gain experience, you realize that there are multiple ways to finger each chord.

Why learn different variations of the chords? As an example, think of a two chord song. You can add interest to the song by using different forms of those two chords. Even in more complex songs, it may still be useful to change to a different form of a chord from one bar to the next. (Here's a good video demonstrating switching between alternate forms of G and C.)

Here are some examples of some alternative fingerings for a couple of common chords:

(I especially like the 0454 form of A7. Think of the main chords in the key of D: D, G, and A7. When changing from G to A7, you just have to slide your fingers 2 frets up the fretboard.)

How does one figure out different chord variations? I've put together a couple of charts to help me come up with different fingerings. You can always learn the patterns for barred chords. However, if a chord includes one or more of G, C, E, or A, these charts can help you find easy alternatives using open strings. You can download the charts from here.

The first chart lists the notes for many of the chords we use. The notes are identified by Roman numerals. If you haven't seen that notation, just think of the notes by their other names: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do. For example, a major chord consists of three notes: I, III, and V. (Or do, mi, and sol.)

The second chart represents the notes on a ukulele fretboard. The notes shaded in yellow are the notes of the open strings. The white area is for the notes on a standard soprano ukulele. The other notes (blue) represent notes found on bigger ukuleles, as well as an additional extension for convenience so you can see full octaves on the chart, even for the key of G#.

After printing out these charts, fold over the top edge of the second page (or cut it off) so that the top of the page is the edge of the fret board. The idea is that you can place the fretboard chart over the chart of chords and have columns line up.

How does this work? As an example,  let's say you want to find a fingering for the Am7 chord. Line up the fretboard chart with the "min7" row on the chord chart. The root note of Am7 is A, and so line up the I column with an A on the top line of the fretboard. You can now read off the notes of the chord: A, C, E, and G. You'll recognize these as the open notes of all four ukulele strings. But let's find an alternative so your left hand has something to do.

The next step is trickier. We must now find A, C, E, and G from different places on the fretboard. It's really guesswork at this point, but let's start with the C at the 5th fret of the G string. We're now left with the task of finding A, E, and G. We see an E at the 4th fret of the C string and a G at the 3rd fret of the E string, leaving us with an open A. These notes are all close together, making the 5430 a really easy way to form the Am7. (Since discovering this form of Am7, I seem to be using it a lot!)

Some notes: First, note that what is commonly called the "diminished" chord is really a "diminished 7th". The row labeled "dim" is the true diminished chord, and not the diminished 7th. Second, the keen observer will note that the 9th chords have five notes. Since the ukulele only has four strings, you need to delete one of the notes. Usually, the III or V is omitted.

I always enjoy finding interesting chord alternatives. I hope you find these charts as useful as I do.

Cheers! Hans

KUS - Our First Public Performance

Not long after I put out the call for ukulele players in Kingston, I got an e-mail from someone who wanted us to perform at her event. I had to reply that we hadn't even had one jam yet! The Kingston Ukulele Society started jamming in September of 2010. But it took until March 2011, before someone suggested that we should work on a core repertoire. And so we began to think about performing in public.

In April, we started jamming at the RCHA Club, a great place that's very supportive of local musicians. A new venue meant a new schedule, with jams on even-numbered Wednesdays. An unfortunate consequence of that schedule meant that there would often be three week gaps between jams. How can we survive such a long time between jams? Well, I think we should do something different in those long intervals. For example, we should perform at an open stage or open mic.

Well, it so happens that every Sunday at the RCHA, there's a folk open stage. I suggested that we do a set on May 29. I didn't know how many of my fellow ukesters would join me. But I figured that if no one did, I would just do a solo set. Fortunately, a few days before, I started getting confirmations from people. First, Mary said that she was interested, even though she hadn't been to any jams. That was fine. After church on Sunday morning, we ran through the song list. If no one else showed up, we could easily do a duet. But later in the afternoon, I got more replies.

All together, we had five ukulele players spanning the stage. As we started into the opening chords of our first song, (D, D6, and Dmaj7), some people in the audience recognized the song and started clapping. We knew something special was about to happen. As we played Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", the mood was electric. I had trouble concentrating on my part since I got distracted by the wonderful music we were making!

I then introduced the people on stage: Heather, who was the first person to answer my initial call for Kingston ukulele players, and then Mary, Jane, and Colin. Our second song was "Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen, followed by "You Are My Tech-Shine", a traditional song with new words written by someone at our church.

The audience certainly enjoyed our short performance, and later we were asked if we'd be the feature act for a future folk evening! Well, that now puts a bit more pressure on us! So far, we've been a very informal gathering of ukulele players. But definite gigs require definite commitment from members of the group. Do we have the critical mass to get enough ukulele players to show up for shows? And do have enough good material for a longer show? I think the answer to both questions is Yes!

Over the past year, I've seen improvement in practically all the ukulele players that have jammed with us. Although I always try to bring at least a few easy three-chord songs to each jam, most people don't seem to get fazed by the more complicated songs I throw at them. But then again, we don't need tricky songs for a show. What we need is a good selection of fun, entertaining songs that we can all learn easily.

Anyways, I think we all had a good time that evening. There's something magical about a person playing a ukulele. And even more so with a group of ukuleles. I hope that we'll have more opportunities to play in public.

Cheers! Hans

Busking in Support of Joe's MILL

Ever willing to push the limits of my comfort zone musically, I eagerly plunged into volunteering for a couple of busking sessions a few weeks ago. The idea was for area musicians to busk for a half hour on Kingston's market square and donate the proceeds to the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library.

Now then, I'm the first to admit that I'm not the greatest musical performer. But I also admit to an ulterior motive, to try to raise awareness of the ukulele in this city. So I picked out about 20 of my best songs, and went downtown.

My first session was at 11AM at the corner of Brock and King, at the north end of the market. On market day, this is the busiest, and noisiest, corner. Most people just walked by, few willing to admit to the presence of a street performer. I was relieved about 40 minutes later by a guy playing blues on a resonator guitar.

I then signed up for another session, but at a quieter corner of the market. Fewer people walked by, but there were a few sitting close by listening to the performances, sometimes commenting on the songs. This time, Roger, the librarian at Joe's M.I.L.L. joined me on acoustic bass for a few songs, which was much appreciated.

What did I learn from this? First, I'll never make a living by busking on the ukulele! But more importantly, I now know first hand what it feels like on the other side. I've always enjoyed listening to street musicians, and generally, I always try to be supportive, even if I don't have time to stay and listen. But most people just pass by quickly, not even wanting to risk the shortest eye contact. While I was performing, frankly, I didn't care that much about the loose change thrown into my ukulele case. I just wanted at least some small acknowledgment from the passersby.

So my point is this: Be kind to street musicians. They've all practised for years to get to the point of being able to perform in public. Even if you can't spare some change, at least say hi, or offer some sign of support. It doesn't take much effort on your part, but can mean a lot to the performer.

Omnifariously yours, Hans