Question about chords and strumming

mike_terror

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This is my 3rd day with my very first ukulele. I have a few questions about the chords and strumming.

I'm using the book "treasury of ukulele chords" by roy sakuma, and on the 8th page titled MAJOR CHORDS, i see that the A chord is fret 2 on G, and fret 1 on C, and open for E and A. Under that picture, theres another picture thats barred on 4th fret, 6 fret on G, 5th fret on E. Is that another way to play the "A" chord? I hope I make sense.

My other question is about my strumming. I'm following what Aldrine said in his videos by extending ur hand, and point ur index finger towards yourself, using ur wrist to move up and down. When I do this, sometimes I feel as if i'm hitting the strings too hard and my index will get caught in between the strings, causing 1 to vibrate harder, while the others are barely brushed. It doesnt feel as if all the strings are being hit with equal force. Sometimes my index finger is so deep in, it makes the noise of scratching against the fret board as well, is this normal? Is the finger nail of the index finger suppose to be facing downward? or does it face outward towards the frets?
 
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This is my 3rd day with my very first ukulele. I have a few questions about the chords and strumming.

I'm using the book "treasury of ukulele chords" by roy sakuma, and on the 8th page titled MAJOR CHORDS, i see that the A chord is fret 2 on G, and fret 1 on C, and open for E and A. Under that picture, theres another picture thats barred on 4th fret, 6 fret on G, 5th fret on E. Is that another way to play the "A" chord? I hope I make sense.
Yes it is an A chord (6454).

My other question is about my strumming. I'm following what Aldrine said in his videos by extending ur hand, and point ur index finger towards yourself, using ur wrist to move up and down. When I do this, sometimes I feel as if i'm hitting the strings too hard and my index will get caught in between the strings, causing 1 to vibrate harder, while the others are barely brushed. It doesnt feel as if all the strings are being hit with equal force. Sometimes my index finger is so deep in, it makes the noise of scratching against the fret board as well, is this normal? Is the finger nail of the index finger suppose to be facing downward? or does it face outward towards the frets?
You should also try to relax your index finger vs a full extension so the tip of your nail brushes through all the strings. The biggest thing is to practice using simple strums. UDUDUD ....
 
so there are many different ways of finger position for each chord?

If a song were to tell u to play the A chord, how would you know which fingering position to use since tehy sound different?
 
so there are many different ways of finger position for each chord?

Yes. Here is a tool that can help you.

http://www.sheep-entertainment.nl/ukulele/

When you go into this site, off to the right side you will see "soprano - d" "soprano - c" "tenor - c" "baritone - g". click on either soprano c or tenor c. Now go to the "keyboard" of notes. Click on A. That is the standard A Major. Click on A again and then you will get an alternate A. You can keep doing this and see what alternate fingering you can use. Applies for all notes.

If a song were to tell u to play the A chord, how would you know which fingering position to use since they sound different?

It's just a matter of practicing and getting to know the chord and the alternate fingering.
 
If a song were to tell u to play the A chord, how would you know which fingering position to use since tehy sound different?

If an arrangement just says to play an "A" chord, and doesn't specify how to play it, then you can play any version you like.

JJ
 
hmm, so why are they labeled the same name for the chords when the positioning and sound are different?
 
hmm, so why are they labeled the same name for the chords when the positioning and sound are different?

a chord is made up of a specific group of notes.

the A chord consists of an A, C#, and E note. so:
when you fret the g string at 2, it becomes an A
C string at 1 becomes C#
and the open E and A strings combined with those make an A chord.

now take the barred chord.
g at 6 makes it a C#
C at 4 makes it an E
E at 5 makes it an A
and A at 4 makes it a C#

so you still have an A Major chord there, just with a different combo of notes. it may sound different, but it will still work with whatever you play it with, as long as it calls for an A chord.

once you understand the notes on the fretboard, you might be able to figure out different ways to create a chord that arent on the "chord chart". then you can apply those fingerings to the songs you like to play to make them "flow" better, or sound slightly different.
 
thanks nuke, that made a lot of sense. Are there any reading materials on the web that teaches you the separate notes on the ukulele. I have no music theory background whatsoever.
 
miketerror,

on a previous post you asked about instructional books. Definitely check out Fretboard Roadmaps, a link is on the other post. It goes into explanations of this concept and has a bunch of exercises to help you inderstand and expand on this concept. Its a tough book, but its a great tool and I think you'll dig it. :cheers:
 
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