This one took me a minute to really grasp when I was first looking into the Ukulele. Grant (the more experienced contributor here at Uke Planet) told me that playing the ukulele was just like playing the guitar without the 5th and 6th string.
He was absolutely right, yet I completely misunderstood him. I thought that meant that the chord would be exactly the same. Which isn’t the case. The position is the same, but the chord is different.
Let’s explore this more.
Can I play Guitar Chords on a Ukulele?
Any chord position and progression played on the guitar can be played on the ukulele. However, the chords that each finger position represents will be different. For example, an A maj on a guitar is a D maj on a Ukulele.
In other words, if you know the finger position of any guitar chord you will be able to play that same position but it will musically represent a different chord. Here are just a few visual examples of what I mean by that.
For the four guitar chords above, the finger positions that are orange remain the same but the 5th and 6th strings and the finger positions that are gray are removed for the uke (as it only has 4 strings). However, as you also see, the chords are different for each position.
That is why it can be a bit confusing to explain, and why many beginners misunderstand when advanced players suggest any guitar chord transitions to the uke. They do transition, it is true, but learning what chord matches each finger position will take a bit of time.
Can I Use Guitar Chord Sheets For the Uke?
The good news is that any song sheets you have for guitar chords will work perfectly for the uke. Again, you’ll just need to look up what the chords are for the ukulele. But you shouldn’t have much trouble with finger positions as most of them will be a position you have played on the guitar before.
For the most part, each chord you’re used to playing will be a bit easier on the ukulele. That has to do with fewer finger positions due to fewer strings. But there will be a few major frustrations, like the E chord.
If you’re somewhat of a beginner with the guitar, you are likely in love with the E chord. You likely hunted down songs that prominently featured the E, because it is so easy. On top of that, the E chord transitions so well into other chords that it is featured in many songs written for guitar.
With the ukulele, however, the E chord is extremely hard to play. If you were on the guitar E train, in your early days with the uke, you’ll likely find you’ll search out a new set of songs that you weren’t playing on the guitar. We have a whole list of songs we suggest starting with here (ZZZ). Songs that involve C, Am, G, and F.
Yes, the F chord is easy on the uke! So go pull out all those songs with F that you were avoiding on the guitar. 🙂
As for that E, you’ll almost certainly want to modify it. Most players do, as the traditional E on the uke is incredibly hard. We actually have a post on playing the E, check it out here.
Can I Use a Capo on the Uke?
You can use a capo in the same exact way you would on a guitar. Most people however, will not need a capo. The ukulele is higher than a guitar and the vast majority of voices would fair better without a capo.
Additionally, you can transpose any song just like you would on a guitar. Which for the uke, means you can almost certainly get by without a capo for most vocal ranges. If you’re interested in transposing a song (I highly suggest learning if you’ll be sticking with the uke) we have a full guide on that in our post here (ZZZ). It really isn’t as complicated as you might think. It’s actually fairly simple, especially with our cheat sheet.
That being said, if your voice is really high, a capo will most certainly work for you.
What Key is Easiest on Ukulele?
If you’re looking for an easy transition from guitar to ukulele, or even just picking up the uke without previous experience on a stringed instrument, you’ll want to pick songs in the key of C.
The key of C is by far the easiest key to play on the uke. The four simple chords we showed above are four of the most commonly used seven chords found in the key of C.
All seven chords are: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, and Bdim.
Out of the seven chords found in the key of C, only one is a real challenge to master, the Bdim. But thankfully, it isn’t commonly used.
Which is why the ukulele is such a fun beginner instrument to play. With the guitar, any way you transpose it, you’ll likely find a prominent chord that is hard for a beginner. With the ukulele, simply transpose to C and strum away.
If you visit the Uke Tab sites, you’ll find that many songs have already been transposed to C for you.