Do I strum all of the strings?

dazzlingmusicgirl

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I have a few questions. Do I strum all four strings or just one, everytime I'm playing chords? Which strings to strum with which chord? Also what are major and minor chords? How to know where all the chords are on the fretboard? I would really appreciate some advice. :)
 
Unless you see an X over a particular string in a chord diagram, you strum all strings. Brian's huge chord list (Google it) has ever chord imaginable and many alternative fingerings.
 
I have a few questions. Do I strum all four strings or just one, everytime I'm playing chords? Which strings to strum with which chord? Also what are major and minor chords? How to know where all the chords are on the fretboard? I would really appreciate some advice. :)

You usually strum all four strings. There are times when you don't have to. For example, I use only 3 strings for E major or Ab major. A major chord is a chord made from the first, third, and the fifth note of a scale. A minor chord uses the first, the third flattened by a semitone, and the fifth. To know where they are all located, you need to get a resource like a chord book or go to a website like ukuchords.com. They will tell you where to put your fingers.
 
Hi - welcome. Yes you will generally strum all 4 strings on a chord 98% of the time. If you haven't done so, as a new beginner, download Uncle Rod's Bootcamp and practice the chord changes in there.
http://ukulelebootcamp.weebly.com/
A minor chord will usually have a lower case "m" after it. So Am, Dm, Em etc.
The major is just the letter itself. So A, D, E, etc.
 
You usually strum all four strings. There are times when you don't have to. For example, I use only 3 strings for E major or Ab major. A major chord is a chord made from the first, third, and the fifth note of a scale. A minor chord uses the first, the third flattened by a semitone, and the fifth. To know where they are all located, you need to get a resource like a chord book or go to a website like ukuchords.com. They will tell you where to put your fingers.

Thank you so much
 
Hi - welcome. Yes you will generally strum all 4 strings on a chord 98% of the time. If you haven't done so, as a new beginner, download Uncle Rod's Bootcamp and practice the chord changes in there.
http://ukulelebootcamp.weebly.com/
A minor chord will usually have a lower case "m" after it. So Am, Dm, Em etc.
The major is just the letter itself. So A, D, E, etc.

Ok I will check this out. Thanks.
 
You can find Chord charts showing the ~98 most used chords on the web. Here is a link, http://jonthysell.com which has a good compact (one page) chart.

Also goggle Key Chord Chart, this will get you a listing of the chords for each key, Major and Minor. The chords in each key 'fit together' to make chord that sound good together.

Also in the "resources" sticky at the top of the Beginners page you can find Howlin' Hobbit's that shows chord progressions with charts which shows 3 or 4 chords in each key. http://www.howlinhobbit.com/ukulele/

Uncle Rod's Bootcamp is also a good place to start for exercises.

Th Beginners Guide http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?120993-Uke-Syllabus-for-Beginners-by-a-Beginner is also a good one.

Lots of good stuff on the Resources page. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?15464-Ukulele-Resources-(Updated)

Enjoy the journey!
 
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Yes, download a chord chart or buy a book, I use the Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Finder, strum all 4 strings, both up & down strokes, but do not worry if you miss a string, it happens to everyone now & again.

The technique known as arpeggiation, is when you pick one string of the chord at a time, & can sound very nice, but likely best to concentrate on simple strumming to begin with, unless you just want to play melodies, then you only need to know where the notes are located, & for that you just need a fretboard map. :)
 
From reading your questions in this thread and others, I think that you would find a private ukulele instructor to guide you very beneficial, rather than trying to figure it out on line. I'm just suggesting that as an alternative to all the great advise that is being thrown out here.
 
From reading your questions in this thread and others, I think that you would find a private ukulele instructor to guide you very beneficial, rather than trying to figure it out on line. I'm just suggesting that as an alternative to all the great advise that is being thrown out here.

Yes I will start looking for one. Thanks .
 
dazzlingmusicgirl, if you don't have a uke teacher in your town (and I don't recommend a "guitar teacher"), you might check on YouTube for Cynthia Lyn and the Ukulele Teacher. They have great tutorial videos for beginners.
Good luck!
 
I tend to brush all four strings on the way down, then one or two on the way up (or mute them totally). You'd be amazed at the dynamic sounds you can achieve on the ukulele, and there are as many strumming patterns as there are ukers (if not more!) Feel free to pm me for advice or just a chat :)
 
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