The Big Kahuna
Well-known member
Ok, this isn't a challenge (although I suppose it could be in the future, if anyone thinks it anything other than the ramblings of a madman).
Anyway...whilst noodling around, I realised that, with one or two exceptions, the beginner guides to Uke' teach chords with exactly the same fingerings, in terms of "third finger>third fret>first string" for C.
Now, this is all as it should be when teaching beginners, but it's very limiting.
Whether it has anything to with my guitar playing days, or just the way I played guitar, I have never thought of chord fingerings in terms of "this finger goes here". I've always fingered a chord using the fingers nearest to the frets/strings at the time or have used different fingers depending on the chord progression.
So, maybe just as a warmup exercise, or maybe as a way of thinking differently when playing, pick a bunch of common chords (to begin with) and play each one over and over, but using different fingers every, say, 4 beats. For a simple C you could play it fast, changing between all 4 fingers, once per beat.
Try Em, but every 4 beats change from fingers 1 2 3 to 2 3 4
The same with F, every 2 beats change between fingers 1 2/2 3/3 4
I know it sounds pointless, but when you're playing a song and you find a chord transition difficult, if you get out of the habit of thinking "It's an F, I must use my first and second fingers" you might, without thinking, finger the chord with 2 & 3 and find it easier.
Anyway, early morning madman rambling over. I haven't had a coffee yet.
Anyway...whilst noodling around, I realised that, with one or two exceptions, the beginner guides to Uke' teach chords with exactly the same fingerings, in terms of "third finger>third fret>first string" for C.
Now, this is all as it should be when teaching beginners, but it's very limiting.
Whether it has anything to with my guitar playing days, or just the way I played guitar, I have never thought of chord fingerings in terms of "this finger goes here". I've always fingered a chord using the fingers nearest to the frets/strings at the time or have used different fingers depending on the chord progression.
So, maybe just as a warmup exercise, or maybe as a way of thinking differently when playing, pick a bunch of common chords (to begin with) and play each one over and over, but using different fingers every, say, 4 beats. For a simple C you could play it fast, changing between all 4 fingers, once per beat.
Try Em, but every 4 beats change from fingers 1 2 3 to 2 3 4
The same with F, every 2 beats change between fingers 1 2/2 3/3 4
I know it sounds pointless, but when you're playing a song and you find a chord transition difficult, if you get out of the habit of thinking "It's an F, I must use my first and second fingers" you might, without thinking, finger the chord with 2 & 3 and find it easier.
Anyway, early morning madman rambling over. I haven't had a coffee yet.