Ukulele Workshops

Schedule | 2023 

POP UP UKE Lessons via Zoom
Sundays 6-7 pm ET

EPIC SUMMER WORKSHOP TOUR!

Steve Kaufman Bluegrass Camp
Marysville, Tennesse
June 18-24, 2023

The Taproom
Nashville, Tennesse
June 30, 2023

Huntsville Ukulele Group
Huntsville, Alabama
July 1, 2023

Ernie Williamson Music
Springfield, Missouri
July 8, 2023

Ernie Williamson Music
Joplin, Missouri
July 8, 2023

Omaha Conservatory of Music
Omaha, Nebraska
July 13, 2023

Damm Music Center
Wichita, Kansas
July 15, 2023

Edmond Music
Edmond, Oklahoma
July 16, 2023

Stillwater Ukulele Association
Stillwater, Oklahoma
July 18, 2023

Bentley Guitar Studios
Parkville (Kansas City), Missouri
July 22, 2023

Maplewood Ukulele Group
Maplewood (St. Louis), Missouri
July 23, 2023

Arthur’s Music Store
Indianapolis, Indiania
July 29, 2023

Buckeye Ukulele Society
Columbus, Ohio
July 30, 2023

BECOME A POP UP UKE PATRON FOR ONLY $12 PER MONTH!

Become a Patron!

 

Barred Major Shape

Posted on: January 13th, 2010 by dville

There is no reason to memorize an entire chord chart. Simply learn a few basic chord shapes you can then manipulate to create other chords. One of my favorite basic chord shapes is the one I call the Barred Major Shape. As you can see from the diagram I’m barring all the strings at the 1st fret and fingering the first string at the 4th fret to form a C# Major chord. It’s as though I’m using my index finger as a movable nut. Lift the index finger off and fret the 1st string at the 3rd fret and we are back to our old familiar open C Major chord.

To alter a chord we must know where the notes of the chord fall on the strings. The notes of a C# Major Chord are C# E# G#. As you can see from the diagram G# is the 5th of the chord, C# is the root (1) and E# is the 3rd. The 8th is C# an octave above the root. Now that we know the number of each note of the chord we can start making new chords. For example, fret the 3rd fret of the 1st string with your ring finger and you’ve got a C# Major 7th chord. Move the note down one more fret, using the middle finger and you’ve made a C#7 chord. Now lift the middle finger off, leaving the barre in place, and you’ve made a C#6 chord.

Move the barred major shape up to the second fret and you’ve got a D Major Chord and so on. This shape is also a good starting point for single-note major scale and arpeggio practice.

Comments are closed.

Ukulele Tutorials

Playing By Ear


Play Ukulele By Ear 1
Vol. 1 DVD or Download
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 1.5
Playing By The Numbers
Download Only
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 2
Vol. 2 DVD or Download
more info


Play Ukulele By Ear 3 Download Only
more info

 


see all products
& descriptions

read reviews


© 2012-2023 Jim d'Ville play ukulele by ear  |  graphics and layout by lindesign  |  built and maintained by Gray's Web Design