I have trouble playing this cleanly. It nearly always sounds kinda muted. I know if I get the positions exactly right it'll be better but that's hard when the chord comes in the middle of a bunch of other chords. Any suggestions other than practice practice practice for 10,000 hours?
Help with Bb
- Thread starter uke201
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HaileISela
Retired Moderator
it should be like 1123, shouldn't it? well, try to move your index a little up or down, there are parts in your finger which work better pressing down the strings than other. apart of that:
ld:
ld:
LonnaB
Well-known member
My daughter's having a hard time with that chord, as well. :wallbash:
Try paying attention to where you have your thumb positioned on the neck of your uke. I find that a slight adjustment in the angle and the pressure I'm putting back there can help a chord form easier.
Practice is important- pick a song you like with that chord and practice it every day. You will get better!
Good luck
Try paying attention to where you have your thumb positioned on the neck of your uke. I find that a slight adjustment in the angle and the pressure I'm putting back there can help a chord form easier.
Practice is important- pick a song you like with that chord and practice it every day. You will get better!
Good luck
Toucan Mango
Well-known member
This easy play along song on YouTube helped me out with that chord. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS43EP1EXz4&feature=related
Hobgoblin Steve
Well-known member
hah thats the first song song I learned on my crappy hilo. then the UAS kicked in :/
I wish he did more play alongs
freedive135
Well-known member
Along with the other good advice you may want to check the action at the nut.
I was having the same problem with my Pono Soprano and the E and C strings were higher on the nut than the G and A.
I had my local shop lower the C a little and the E alot and now no more problems.
I was/am baring the first fret for this chord.
I was having the same problem with my Pono Soprano and the E and C strings were higher on the nut than the G and A.
I had my local shop lower the C a little and the E alot and now no more problems.
I was/am baring the first fret for this chord.
PickNStrum
Well-known member
The biggest problem most beginning players have with this chord and many other chords is "not dropping their wrist on the left hand" For some reason it's natural at first for people to hold their wrist straight or even up. You must relax the left wrist and let it drop to be able to play this chord. Try over emphasizing it at first. You may also want to try holding the neck of the instrument higher as well. Hope this helps
ukusaurus
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I hardly play any barre chords so I just use four fingers for that chord or even chords like B. Middle finger on A , Pointer on E, Ring on C and Pinky on G. I don't have any problems playing the chord but I wouldn't really recommend playing like this because its probably much harder than barring.
This advice is so good. It gives me lots of things to try in my 10,000 hours of practice. I'm quite tiny for an adult with very small hands. I'm using those finger stretching exercises Aldrine gave us recently too. I'm very delighted with all the replies. Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond.
hawaiianmusiclover06
Well-known member
To answer your question, I learned the Bb chord about 2 weeks ago. At first it sounded muted and my ukulele teacher looked at the way I was playing it and had me adjust my fingers. I have to say that I finally mastered it last week when I went for my lesson. The Bb chord is one of the hardest basic chord to master. And also practice, practice, and practice.
UkuLeLesReggAe
Well-known member
i swear i posted in this thread hahaha
practise, do chors like C G Bb.... will help but practise.
practise, do chors like C G Bb.... will help but practise.
Bb
The Bflat shape is very important as it is one of the basic moveable ones. Slide it one fret higher, and you are playing 'B' - 4322 - one more gives 'C' - 5433 - etc. So you must master it. It is easier to manage if you place your thumb at the back of the neck. Some chords are OK to play with the neck resting in the web at the base of your thumb, but others require more mobility of the fingers. When I play Bb my thumb is placed at the back of the headstock, between the nut and the first two tuners.
I remember it being difficult when I was learning, along with Dm7 (2213), F7 (2313), and of course our old friend E is a swine!
Practice, practice, practice. In a short while you will wonder what the problem was.
Ukantor
The Bflat shape is very important as it is one of the basic moveable ones. Slide it one fret higher, and you are playing 'B' - 4322 - one more gives 'C' - 5433 - etc. So you must master it. It is easier to manage if you place your thumb at the back of the neck. Some chords are OK to play with the neck resting in the web at the base of your thumb, but others require more mobility of the fingers. When I play Bb my thumb is placed at the back of the headstock, between the nut and the first two tuners.
I remember it being difficult when I was learning, along with Dm7 (2213), F7 (2313), and of course our old friend E is a swine!
Practice, practice, practice. In a short while you will wonder what the problem was.
Ukantor
hoosierhiver
Well-known member
After a distant realtionship for awhile,I now feel like I'm on a first name basis with Bb.The secret for me was to find a few songs that I really wanted to learn with the 1-4-5 being F,Bb and C.It'll be friendly to you in no time.
Ukulele JJ
Super Moderator
Another trick is to play it as 3213. That's actually a Bb(add2), but it sounds nice in a lot of cases... especially if you're in the key of F.
JJ
JJ
T
TomHB
Guest
If you're coming from guitar, B, Bb and C (5433) etc is one of the easiest chord shapes to play on uke. Especially if on occasion you play "F shape" chords on guitar using the thumb over the top to hit the low E string, instead of a full bar. Seems harder, to me, to try to bar the entire chord on uke. Just bar the first two strings with your index finger. As another poster said, make sure your thumb is on the back of the neck, for better leverage.
Just keep at it. I'll come.
Just keep at it. I'll come.
Last edited:
gobes
Well-known member
I think that one of the keys to playing the Bb shape, as illustrated in the picture above, is to tilt your hand so that your thumb sort of points towards the tuners.
While it is probably considered good technique to keep your thumb on the back of the neck and parallel to the frets it just doesn't work for the Bb.
While it is probably considered good technique to keep your thumb on the back of the neck and parallel to the frets it just doesn't work for the Bb.
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