Is there an alternative to Bm?

Has your uke ever been setup? If the action is high or the frets off a hair, it is really hard to bar a chord. If you haven't, take it to a luthier, get the action lowered and the frets dressed. Will make a big difference.
 
Patrick, very good point. What is the standard test? I think it is a business card thickness gap on the first fret and a dime thickness gap one the 12th fret.

Isn't that right?
 
0.5mm at the first and 2 at the 12th. If you can set it to this, which isn't too difficult, you should find that most chord problems become much less.

Oh by the way, I wasn't intending to be rude when I said just learn Bm. The fact is that you can avoid playing certain chords only for so long. If you're happy playing alternates then enjoy playing.
 
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I just do X222. I don't know if I'm writing that correctly. In other words, I barre strings C, E, and A but I just don't play the G string at all. If I were able to even reach the fret that I am supposed to on the G string, it would just be playing the same note as the A string anyway. I like to simplify!
 
I realize this is an old thread, but I wanted to thank all of you for our help with this chord. Really helpful information. Especially Markr1, OpenC. Thank you all. The first time I tried your hints, I was able to play the cord for the first time. I don't have a teacher, so it is sometimes abit hard to figure things out.
 
I don't know if my strings are "too" high or not. I've been told they were too high by a luthier, and I've been told they are just right by a professional ukulele player, both of them standing there at the same time looking at it. However I started out having a little trouble barring that first fret and I kept blaming it on the high action. Then, I started playing White Rabbit by the Jefferson Airplane. I really liked that song when I was kid and the very first 8 track I bought to play in my car was Jefferson Airplane and it had White Rabbit on it. My rendition of it starts out with it going back and forth between the F# and the G. So I barr the F#, then just move the whole thing over one, then back. You do that a couple of times before you move on. At first I was having trouble with the F# and getting it to sound clear, but I like that song so much, that I just kept playing it and playing it and playing it. I would walk around the house playing it sometimes. After a short while, the F# got as clear as a bell, and that seems to have transferred itself to other barred chords as well, especially on the first fret. So my advise is to play White Rabbit.
 
just to piggy-back on what OpenC said, please remember the placement of your...
thumb.

If you are supporting the neck in the web between your thumb and index finger, you
may not be giving your fingers the leverage they will need to form many chords, Bm being
one of them.

Ideally, I believe, your thumb should be in the middle of the back of the neck behind the
2nd fret... for most of the chords in open or first position.

I know it can feel more comfortable and secure to hold the neck right against the web of
your hand, but it will interfere with forming many chords... to have your thumb hanging over
the top (as it were).

Playing the uke should be FUN, so please take this as a suggestion... NOT as law. :)

keep uke'in',
 
Bm7 (2222) works most of the time.

This is a good point. Unless the minor chord is the I (one) chord of the song or key center, a minor seventh almost always works. If in the song you're playing, the Bm is followed by an E7, you're playing a ii-V progression, in this case resolving to A. Look for this progression in your songs. It's very common. When you see it, the minor seventh is ALWAYS correct. Let your ears decide. If the minor seventh sounds too jazzy, go back to the straight triad-based minor. I'll bet you go for the m7.
 
bm chord

i haven't found any alternatives that sound that good to me. i've been trying to fiind one to play lost one's weeping by vocaloid, https://www.ukulele-tabs.com/uke-songs/vocaloid/lost-ones-weeping-uke-tab-53754.html, but haven't been able to find one. i'm currently practicing putting my index finger across c e and a on the second fret and manuvering my thumb to go to the 4th fret on the g string. it's painful but it sounds best personally. if you have any good alternatives, please let me know!:iwant:
 
I play all chords without muting strings, except E and C#m.

But you can play Bm also x222, and now I mean fingering with 3 fingertips, not barring like in the above hint. And mute G-string with thumb. At least with normal ukulele tuning this sounds almost just as good as 4222.

Playing barre chords your thumb should be behind the neck as a counterbalance. So the hold is radically different.
 
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