My favorite one finger chord!

thejumpingflea

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I've just started doing a weekly video series on my favorite chords and how I like to use them. This week's episode is on Fadd9, one of the easiest chords on the ukulele!
 
I like add9 chords. Some other faves are Amadd9 (4000) and Cadd9 (0005)
 
Jim, considering how simple those chords are I'm surprised they haven't cropped up in anything I've come across so far.
 
Jim, considering how simple those chords are I'm surprised they haven't cropped up in anything I've come across so far.

Well, you just need to get out more. ;)

It's the kind of thing you just "throw in". If a chord chart says C, just try Cmaj7 or Cadd9. Or like Matt says, if the chart says F, try Fadd9. If it sounds good, do it again! :)
 
Matt,

Thanks for posting this. You have a great style in your instruction, and another thing I love is your ukulele with its number fretboard that corresponds to the charts on your website. The ukulele is clearly geared towards instruction...otherwise thr numbers would be facing you. That is simply brilliant.

I wish you the best in your website endeavor!
 
0200 = C6/9, another one-finger C-chord substitute (or you can add another finger for a straight Cadd9: 0203).

0200 can also be G6/9, a possible substitute for G, Gm, G6 or Gm6.
It can also be A7sus4, a possible substitute for A7 or Am7.
It can also be a Dsus chord with the third suspended both ways, a possible substitute for D or Dm.

Fun with color chords.
 
That's a good one too ubulele. I'm using a barred form of that one in my latest song and you're right, it really is a chameleon depending on what you call the root (or what the bass instrument is playing). My progression is
Em Cmaj7 G and (2422). I mostly settled on A as the bass note so a-e-f#-b , A6/9, but I may have done some Es as well with the double suspended E chord resolving back to Em. I like it!
 
That's a good one too ubulele. I'm using a barred form of that one in my latest song and you're right, it really is a chameleon depending on what you call the root (or what the bass instrument is playing). My progression is
Em Cmaj7 G and (2422). I mostly settled on A as the bass note so a-e-f#-b , A6/9, but I may have done some Es as well with the double suspended E chord resolving back to Em. I like it!

When I see that progression I can't help but think it's a B7sus4, especially with Em being your root chord. Have you tried playing half of the bar with 2422, followed by 2322 for the second half of the bar?

Thanks for all the comments! New videos coming each week.
 
Geat! I wish these kinds of tricks could be consolidated for the Beginners (like me). To teach not only simple tricks but also some music theory. It would help both ways without getting all geeky! WHen I started playing Uke, I searched for a Circle of Fifths chart, because I had one for guitar many years ago, but never really understood it, another $10 shot to hell I could have spent on SAS! I found a Utube where someone explained on his fingers I-IV-V and suddenly it made a lot more sense.

I need ot spend a little more time on the Tips thread apparently. Thanks Guys!
 
I *love* that teaching uke, Matt. Thanks for posting this thread. I am digging it.

As one-finger chords go, my favorites are all the chords playable by barring the A and E strings with one finger. Some examples include C7sus4, Eb6/9 or an ambiguous C11 (0011), a very ambiguous Cmaj11 or Gmaj7/C (0022), Cm7 (0066), and Cmaj7 (0077).

If I had to choose one of these chords, I love that Cmaj7 (0077) in particular. Its open voicing (it spans a compound third in high G tuning) contrasts nicely against the closed voicings typical in high G tuning, bridging the gap between high G and low G tunings for us high G ukers. For at least that one chord, we have the best of both worlds.

As an added bonus, because it includes the lowest notes playable on the instrument, it tends to encompass the entire range of chords leading up to it.
As an example, consider the following key of C II-V-I chord solo: Dm7 (5210 for 3 beats, then the usual 2213 for one beat), G7 (esoteric fingering 4532 or 7542 for 3 beats, then the usual 4535 for one beat), then Cmaj7 (0077) for 4 beats. In this progression, the open voicing of the Cmaj7 really wraps up the progression and prepares for modulation to another key or some other curveball.

Unfortunately, it only works so well in high G tuning. In low G, its open voicing becomes its downfall, and it tends to sound unbalanced.
 
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Thanks OP. This lesson ties in really well with what i'm learning in music theory right now. I'm not sure i would have understood it much if I had no knowledge of music theory. And I'm the sort of person who really likes to understand why. I'm not sure that "because you like it" would have satisfied me as an explanation for why you can do it and get away with it but luckily i've pass that point. Anyway i'm off to try this out right now. :)

Actually the F add 9 chord improves the song that i'm supposed to have been working on and not. Take a Walk on the wild side. C then F add 9 sounds right where as C F did not sound quite as convincing. Anyone want to explain this further. Are the chords i've got dumbed down?

They are C F x 4 for the intro.

Then C F C F C D F D for the verse

C F C F for the chorus.

C F x6 for the bridge. doo doo doo eetc.
 
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Aloha Matt....
It's good to see you in the lime light again. It seemed that you disappeared for a long time, I missed not seeing you at festivals performing with Dom and other notable outstanding players on stage. I will look a your other videos you have posted.
I still enjoy playing your arrangement of "Autumn Leaves" that you provided a friend of mine many years ago here in Reno. I hope to see and hear more from you in the future.
Thanks for sharing your expertise and Aloha with the rest of us.
Reno Dave
 
Are the chords i've got dumbed down?

Almost all "tabs" and lead sheets are dumbed down to make them more "accessible" to the average player. A lot of color and chord changes are stripped out. And many lead sheets are flat out wrong about some chords (if you compare them to the original renditions).

I also find that, if you stick with just the original chords, things can end up sounding quite flat and dull, reduced to the sound of just the ukulele and your voice. So I often have to add color, transitional chords, even alternative harmonizations, just to make things more interesting. Particularly with modern songs, what's interesting about them isn't necessarily the lyrics, the melodies or the harmonies, but the rhythmic and ambient effects—hard to capture the same feel with just an acoustic uke.
 
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Almost all "tabs" and lead sheets are dumbed down to make them more "accessible" to the average player. A lot of color and chord changes are stripped out. And many lead sheets are flat out wrong about some chords (if you compare them to the original renditions).

I also find that, if you stick with just the original chords, things can end up sounding quite flat and dull, reduced to the sound of just the ukulele and your voice. So I often have to add color, transitional chords, even alternative harmonizations, just to make things more interesting. Particularly with modern songs, what's interesting about them isn't necessarily the lyrics, the melodies or the harmonies, but the rhythmic and ambient effects—hard to capture the same feel with just an acoustic uke.

Yes I see. I think cynthia lin does a pretty good job.
 
Thanks for all the feedback! I'll be doing these videos more, but it may be a couple weeks for them to start coming in quickly... My wife and I just had our first baby!!

If you like the fret markers, check this out! I've got a new course launching here on UU that's now available for preorder. Diapers aren't cheap! ;)

 
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