B flat chord

i see a lot of people do 1/2 bar with just A and E string

I guess this is what I've always done. I fret the A and E strings with my index finger, but with the pad or side of my finger, not the point! It's not hard this way, but it does require turning your wrist a little.
 
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I fret the A and E strings with my index finger, sometimes my pointer finger is on top of it or just hanging out there in mid air, my middle is on the C and my pinky,frets the G. I try to use the pinky as much as possible, like C most of the time, and Em coming from a G just drop the pinky down on the 4th fret C string.

Mel
 
Still working on this myself. It will look good, but sometimes I will pick the strings separately to see if all sections of the chord sound clear. This helps me make adjustments.
 
Are you having problems holding down all the strings to get a clean sound? Try rotating your wrist holding the chord to the left a little more. Sometimes that helps.

Great advice, thanks!
Works perfectly for me
 
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If you learn to barre the chord, it will open up a whole world of possibilities...lift one finger, and you've got a Bbm (minor) put it back and lift another, and you've got Bb7. Play the Bb barred and put down your little finger for a Bb6 or Bb7 (using the second string) or a Bb+9 (little finger on the first string..you'll figure out where!). Lift a finger off the 4th string for your Bb7 and put your little finger down on the first (OK...3rd fret...) and you've now got a Bb9. And you've just left that index finger alone barring all the strings at the first fret. Now move up a fret...B...and another...C...etc. Get comfy with all of those variations on chords working out of that "A" formation.

Getting away from always depending on open strings will really liberate you as a player. There are good reasons to use open strings...sometimes...but using them because you can't play past first position is just not advancing as a player.
 
If you learn to barre the chord, it will open up a whole world of possibilities...lift one finger, and you've got a Bbm (minor) put it back and lift another, and you've got Bb7. Play the Bb barred and put down your little finger for a Bb6 or Bb7 (using the second string) or a Bb+9 (little finger on the first string..you'll figure out where!). Lift a finger off the 4th string for your Bb7 and put your little finger down on the first (OK...3rd fret...) and you've now got a Bb9. And you've just left that index finger alone barring all the strings at the first fret. Now move up a fret...B...and another...C...etc. Get comfy with all of those variations on chords working out of that "A" formation.

Getting away from always depending on open strings will really liberate you as a player. There are good reasons to use open strings...sometimes...but using them because you can't play past first position is just not advancing as a player.

:agree: Movable chord shapes are key to the next level, and are totally worth the work. The Bb shape, the Bm shape, the G shape, the B7,the F7 shape, the E shape...those will open up whole new vistas, and allow you to play the same thing in several different ways.
Also, movable (Barre) chord shapes are critical for proper "chunking" which allows you a whole new rhythmic world as well.

I am not fully there, but I can make most of the shapes, I'm just slowed down by the mathematics of it at times...

Sokolow's Fretboard Roadmaps:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/14...=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1423400410
 
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Eb the EZ way

I detest the chord.
I don't bother much with it now and if its in something I want to play I use another chord simply because I cant get a clean sound no matter how I practice - and its not only this chord either that I have problems with.
Perhaps I'm a slow learner or it simply will take me far longer to grasp it than most, but whatever the reason I got tired of being slowed down in learning something with this chord in it that I couldn't do.

I take the easy way out and that upsets a few players but not me.

Witters - I am a beginner and with my old short fat fingers am never going to be able to do it the proper way. However I find that folding over my forefinger and barring 1st and 2nd frets with the back of my finger makes it totally easy peasy! Give it a go. I do roll my finger slightly towards the head to make it comfortable but it is now clear as a bell!! - Higgy
 
how i dealt with this chord was to run off a song you like with Bb in it,
and use it as practice, along with the other songs you are learning,
if you keep at it you will crack the chord and it will be so worthwhile
 
how i dealt with this chord was to run off a song you like with Bb in it,
and use it as practice, along with the other songs you are learning,
if you keep at it you will crack the chord and it will be so worthwhile
:agree:
Top tip, wallyboy!
 
Me too. Bb is still my enemy. Reading this thread is like a pep talk to me I will eventually get it if I keep trying.
 
Do people find Bb appreciably harder than F# or C#? Why do people keep mentioning Bb as a hard one? Does it just come up more?
 
Do people find Bb appreciably harder than F# or C#? Why do people keep mentioning Bb as a hard one? Does it just come up more?

I don't recall stumbling onto either of those chords, but I run into Bb a lot. Your theory is probably correct.
 
I had the OP's problem until I read it was perfectly OK to fret the E and A strings with separate fingers. I play Bb with my index finger on A and middle finger on E (1st frets), ring finger on C 2nd fret, and pinkie on G 3rd fret. Same fingering for B, C#, etc.

That's probably difficult or impossible on a soprano (depending on the size of one's hands) but I play a tenor (more spacious).

For me, at least, it's too difficult to cleanly barre two strings with one finger.
 
9 times out of 10, I just play the Bb as a Bb(add2). That is, as a 3213. Easier to play, and sounds "hipper". I guess it is cheating though. ;)

Heck, if you're in the key of F, you can play your F with that "C" note on top too (2013), then just keep it there for your Bb and C chords (and maybe even your Dm if you play it as a Dm7).

JJ

My cheat sheet... Not "mine" mine, just the one I use.

uke-c-as.jpg

Some of these have come in handy from time to time though and can be almost indistinguishable from a proper Bb if you don't have long runs of the same chord. I make it a point not to let there be...
 
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Thumb position is the key to playing Bb cleanly and easily. The pad of the thumb should be on the back of the neck. Resting the neck in the fork between thumb and index finger is OK for some chords, but makes life very difficult for others.
 
Do people find Bb appreciably harder than F# or C#? Why do people keep mentioning Bb as a hard one? Does it just come up more?

I think two things come into play. One...it is you're right, those other chords don't come up often. The other is that the Bb is right next to the nut. That means if your ukulele is not set up well it takes a fair amount of strength to fret it as a barre (and may sound like poop, as well, because of poor intonation from the high nut). And, if you're not playing it as a barre, the position at the top of the nut doesn't leave much room for hand gymnastics without running into the tuners and head stock.

Playing a Bb with an index finger barre all the way across all the strings at the first fret, on a well set up uke, is actually not difficult at all.

John
 
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