Ukulele Chords

This free ukulele chords tool shows any chord as fretboard diagrams and plays it for you. Pick a root and a chord type, and up to four ways to play it appear, each with the frets, the fingers to use and the notes on every string. It also names chords you finger yourself.

How to use the chord finder

• Pick a root: choose any of the 12 notes from C to B.
• Pick a chord type: major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, sus2, sus4, dim, aug, add9, 6, m6, 9 or 5 (the power chord).
• Read the diagrams: each one is a chord box with the strings in playing order, G C E A from left to right. A dot marks the fret to press and the number inside is the finger: 1 for the index finger up to 4 for the little finger. An o above a string means play it open. Gold marks the root.
• Check the notes: the table under the diagrams lists every string with its fret, finger, note and degree in the chord, such as 3 for the 3rd or ♭7 for a minor 7th, plus the chord’s formula.
• Listen: tap a diagram, or press Strum down, Strum up or Pluck. The sound is a plucked-string synth made in your browser with the Karplus–Strong method.

Tunings

The default is standard ukulele tuning, G C E A with a high G. The G string is tuned above the C string, so the string nearest your chin is not the lowest note. So the tool does not force the root to the bottom here. Low G tunes that string an octave down, and the shapes stay the same. Baritone ukulele is tuned D G B E, like the top four strings of a guitar, so it has its own shapes, such as 0003 for G.

How the voicings are chosen

The diagrams are not copied from a fixed chart. For every chord the tool works through the fretboard and keeps only shapes a hand can play:

• Every note sounded belongs to the chord, and every chord tone is there. The one exception is the 5th of 7, maj7, m7 and 9 chords, which can be left out when a chord has more notes than the ukulele has strings.
• All four strings ring (power chords may leave one outer string out), the fretted notes fit within four frets, and the shape needs no more than four fingers, counting a barre as one.
• Low positions, open strings and fewer fingers are preferred.

The shapes found on every beginner chart come up first: C is 0003, Am 2000, F 2010, G 0232, Em 0432, D 2220, A 2100, G7 0212, C7 0001 and Dm 2210. Familiar shapes moved up the neck are ranked next, so B♭ shows 3211, the A shape one fret higher.

Fingering

Fingers are numbered in order of fret, lower string first at the same fret. A single fretted note in open position uses the finger matching its fret, so C (0003) uses finger 3.

Name a chord from the fretboard

In the Name it tab, tap the fretboard to place one note on each string, or type the frets, such as 0003, and press Set frets. Tap a dot again to mute that string; the column by the nut plays it open. The tool names the chord from the notes and lists other names for the same notes. For example, 0000 is Am7, and the same four notes also make C6. In low G and baritone tuning it also says which inversion you are playing.

Capo and left-handed view

Choose a capo fret and the shapes are shown counted from the capo, which is how chord sheets write them. The panel names the shape you play and what it sounds as: with the capo on fret 2, the C shape 0003 sounds as D. Left-handed mirrors the diagrams, the table and the fretboard.

Tips

• Start with four chords. C, G, Am and F cover a huge number of songs.

FAQ

Is this ukulele chords tool free?

Yes. It runs in your browser, with nothing to install and no account.

Why don’t I hear anything?

Browsers only start sound after you tap or click the page, so the first chord you pick starts the audio. Check that Sound is On and, on a phone, that silent mode is off.

Do these chords work on a concert or tenor ukulele?

Yes. Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles normally use the same G C E A tuning, so the shapes are the same. Only the baritone uses D G B E.

Want to play more? Try our Virtual Piano to play songs on the keys, or train your ear and memory with Simon.