Ukulele Chord Finder

The ukulele has four strings and chords that take a few minutes to learn, but there is a chord for every root and type, and the shapes for the rarer ones are hard to remember. This finder lists the shapes for any chord you choose, draws each as a diagram, plays it, and shows the other chords in the same key, so a song that goes C, Am, F, G can be played from one page.

Choosing a chord

Select a root note, one of the twelve, and a chord type, such as major, minor, seventh, major seventh, minor seventh, suspended, diminished or augmented. The heading shows the symbol, and below it are up to eight shapes. The first is marked easiest, and the Play button next to each strums the strings from top to bottom with a soft triangle-wave synthesizer, so you can check by ear that your fingering matches.

A worked example

Press Sample for C major on a soprano. The first shape is 0 0 0 3: three open strings and the third fret on the A string, which is the chord every beginner learns. The numbers read from the first string, G, to the fourth, A, with x for a string that is not played. Below, the key of C major shows its seven chords as diagrams: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim, labelled with their degrees.

Why the ukulele is different

Standard tuning is G–C–E–A with a high G. The first string is higher than the second, so the lowest string is not the lowest note. A finder that insisted on the root being the bass note, as guitar chords do, would find no sensible shapes. This tool turns that rule off for the ukulele and requires all four strings to sound. A baritone is tuned D–G–B–E like the top four strings of a guitar, so the usual guitar rules apply.

Reading the diagrams

The diagram is vertical, with the nut at the top. A dot is a finger; an open circle above the nut is an open string. If a shape sits higher up the neck, a number at the side gives the fret where the diagram begins. Names like I, ii and V under the chords of the key are the Roman numerals of the scale degrees, upper case for major chords and lower case for minor.

Using the key family

Most songs use a handful of chords from one key. The first, fourth and fifth, I, IV and V, are the backbone, with the minor chords on the second, third and sixth adding colour. If a song is in C, learn C, F and G first and add Am. If you are not sure which key, try the root you think and see if the family covers every chord of the song.

Edge cases

The finder assumes the usual re-entrant GCEA tuning with a high G; a ukulele strung with a low G has the same fingerings but the fourth string sounds an octave lower. If no comfortable shape exists, the page says so and suggests another type. Different books give different fingerings for the same chord, and the page lists several.

Limits

This is a chord finder, not a tutor. It does not show strumming patterns, and the sound is a simple synthesizer, not a ukulele. Settings are not saved, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Related tools

• Chord Diagram Maker draws a whole progression for guitar, ukulele or bass.
• Chord Transposer moves a chord sheet to an easier key.
• Online Tuner tunes the four strings, with a ukulele setting.
• Circle of Fifths shows how the keys relate.