When you pick up a ukulele for the first time, it can be a little intimidating. There are so many choice of what you can play - it's often difficult to start. Chord charts will give you a huge list of chords you can play on the ukulele but they can be quite confusing to use.
Where should you start? Which are the basic chords? Which can be easily played by a new ukulele player? Which chords sound right together? Which chords are most common?
In this series of articles I'll be answering all these questions. In this part of the series I'll be looking at how to play the F chord on the ukulele.
The F chord is slightly more tricky than the C chord since it requires the use of two fingers.
Step 1: Hold down the E string (which is one up from the bottom of the neck) at the first fret using your pointer/index finger. Step 2: hold down the G string with you middle finger at the second fret. Play these two notes by themselves to make sure you can hear them clearly.
Now check that the two strings - C and A - which you are not playing can be heard clearly. Many beginners find that they aren't. If they are not as clear as they should be, you may be muting the strings with the underside of the fingers you are using to fret.
Take a look at how your fretting fingers are positioned. If they are fairly flat against the fret board, then they are most likely causing a problem by dampening the strings and preventing them from ringing.
To cure this, lift your hand up off the fret board so that, rather than laying flat against it, it is raised up from it and your fingers come away at a sharp angle.
If you want to create a great sound on the ukulele, paying close attention to this aspect of playing is absolutely essential. You'll encounter this again and again when you start to learn more chords and it's important to get into the correct way of playing as soon as possible.
Once you have mastered this, it will continue through to the rest of your playing.
In rock music, C to F is one of the most common chord changes there is. You'll hear it over and over in all sorts of genres from country to blues to pop to metal.
And when you have C and F in a song, it is very likely that you'll also see the next chord we will be looking at: G7. So head over and read that to find out more. - 16036
Where should you start? Which are the basic chords? Which can be easily played by a new ukulele player? Which chords sound right together? Which chords are most common?
In this series of articles I'll be answering all these questions. In this part of the series I'll be looking at how to play the F chord on the ukulele.
The F chord is slightly more tricky than the C chord since it requires the use of two fingers.
Step 1: Hold down the E string (which is one up from the bottom of the neck) at the first fret using your pointer/index finger. Step 2: hold down the G string with you middle finger at the second fret. Play these two notes by themselves to make sure you can hear them clearly.
Now check that the two strings - C and A - which you are not playing can be heard clearly. Many beginners find that they aren't. If they are not as clear as they should be, you may be muting the strings with the underside of the fingers you are using to fret.
Take a look at how your fretting fingers are positioned. If they are fairly flat against the fret board, then they are most likely causing a problem by dampening the strings and preventing them from ringing.
To cure this, lift your hand up off the fret board so that, rather than laying flat against it, it is raised up from it and your fingers come away at a sharp angle.
If you want to create a great sound on the ukulele, paying close attention to this aspect of playing is absolutely essential. You'll encounter this again and again when you start to learn more chords and it's important to get into the correct way of playing as soon as possible.
Once you have mastered this, it will continue through to the rest of your playing.
In rock music, C to F is one of the most common chord changes there is. You'll hear it over and over in all sorts of genres from country to blues to pop to metal.
And when you have C and F in a song, it is very likely that you'll also see the next chord we will be looking at: G7. So head over and read that to find out more. - 16036
About the Author:
Learn hundreds more ukulele chords by visiting Al Wood's website. And get your uke career off to a great start by getting advice on how to buy a ukulele online.
