Most difficult basic chord

Jarmo_S

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For me it is the darn Dm.

Time and time again I find playing relaxed and not all notes sounding out, unless I concentrate. The 2210 fingering.
Time and time again I find out that either I'm not pressing the D root before the fret or if I do then the 3rd, F does not get pressed enough, or not close it's fret. And basically my index finger hurts when I get it right.

I don't like the chord and have been thinking of playing it just x210, with a thumb mute. It sounds the same anyways to me. Anyone else with this problem?

With guitar it is the Am chord and I never had any problems with it.
It is my concert ukulele's scale and I can't seem to fit my fingers properly unless I concentrate and my index finger hurts if i do.
So I hate that chord.
 
For me, it is C# major. Regarding the Dm fingering: I use a two-finger approach instead of three. I just make a F chord, but instead of keeping it arched I slant my middle finger so that it frets both the G and the C strings. Your idea of the thumb mute sounds a little awkward. Whenever I want to mute the G string (e.g., for the Ab or F#) I use the finger which is fretting the C string by placing my finger a little bit off-center so that it is slightly touching the G string while fretting the C string.
 
E Major for me because my fingers just don't want to go there.
 
many of my students groan about Bb (3211) or the 4-finger F7 (2313).

if you consider diminished chords basic, as I do, i also get groans about the
4-finger diminished chord forms: F- (1212) and C- (2323).

G- (0101) gets smiles :)

keep uke'in',
 
ripock, your way of doing things for Dm don't work for me. I can't bend my finger backwards like that, nor I can with nylon strings mute a G string with a finger pressed on C. Thumb mute is easy though and we need treat differently the nut chords than the others. In my opinion. Your C# is not basic, seldom see it in any songbook tunes, easy though with a barre and 4th pinky.

kkimura, also E chord is not a basic, but I have no problems with it. 1x02 with index finger muting the C-string same as playing G# on 4th. I know it is not also so well known, but quite a jewel to give from me :)

"Uncle Rod", those diminished chords are easy. F7 is easier with omitting the 5th and play just 2310 and sounds most times better too, it is F#7 that a is somewhat a basic chord that needs your fingering. I am working on it myself, since it is needed!

My thing with Dm, such a simple chord, I am 59 years old, and it hurts my index finger joint. Trying to fit all fingers so close, it really does.
 
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Me too! I go 4447 a lot because I like the octave note and it's movable.
 
For me it was Bb(3211) and G(0232) that were hardest. Dm(2210) was a comparative cakewalk for me.
 
Jarmo_S, if you find it easier to mute the 'G' string with your thumb you must be playing with the neck of the uke on the web at the base of your thumb and forefinger. Try placing the pad of the thumb at the back of the neck. That will make it a lot easier to place your finger tips where they need to be. A lot of people play with the neck in the crook of the thumb/finger, and if that's what you prefer, that's fine - but it does cause difficulties.

Try my suggestion. You might decide it is worth making the effort to change - or you might not.

FMajor7 I find too difficult to play - 2,4,1,3 - I can arrange my surgically adjusted, 79 year old hand into that position, but not with the necessary deftness to be of any use. Looking for an alternative, I discovered that 5500 gives exactly the same four notes, in reverse order. This made my life MUCH easier!

John Colter,
 
ripock, your way of doing things for Dm don't work for me. I can't bend my finger backwards like that, nor I can with nylon strings mute a G string with a finger pressed on C. Thumb mute is easy though and we need treat differently the nut chords than the others. In my opinion. Your C# is not basic, seldom see it in any songbook tunes, easy though with a barre and 4th pinky..

Easy to explain, but not easy for my hand. When I do the C# shape, the E string gets muted. I have practiced and it worked itself out. It is interesting that we are playing the same instrument, the ukulele, and adhering to the same principle, to master the basics...however none of us seem to agree on what is basic. For me, what is the essential basics are the major and minor triads as well as the major and minor Dom7's. That gives access to the blues and some jazz. After all, without the c#, you can't play blues in c#, f#, or ab and those are some of the tastier keys.
 
Arpeggiate difficult chords. Put you finger on one note at a time and pick the note. Build up the chord note by note instead of trying to get three or four fingers to work at once, just focus on one finger at a time. If you are really keen learn the notes in the chord, instead of just learning 2210, learn ADFA, or fifth root third fifth, or all of these. Take your mind off how hard it is for your finger by learning more about the chord, and saying the notes name or the notes interval to the root note.

...and then beat that finger into submission! Teach it to play the damn chord correctly by repeatedly switching back and forth from other related chords! :p
 
For me it is the darn Dm.

Time and time again I find playing relaxed and not all notes sounding out, unless I concentrate. The 2210 fingering.

Hi, Jarmo!

Index finger on the first fret of the 2nd string is difficult to fret for every guitar and ukulele players. All of the vintage guitars and ukuleles have scars on this fret by nail (blue arrow in the left figure below).



1) We need to cut the nail of the index finger.
2) Find the best contact point. It is not the most tip of the index finger.
3) Best index finger position is not vertical to the fret board. We need to lay it down as much as we can. But have to avoid muting 1st string.
4) Power direction is not vertical to the fret board. It is diagonal to it (red arrow in the right figure above).
5) Feel the string tension and avoid nail contact to the fret.
6) Hand should not shift to headstock, nail should face to your face.

I teach these things for this chord and index finger to my friend.
 
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Am I the only one who will mention the dreaded E chord?

Sure, some of the other mentioned chords can be hard for me to fret perfectly every time, and some strings might get muted at times. But the E chord, requiring that difficult bend of the finger, is very difficult to fret at all in the first place.
 
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ripock,
you are much more advanced than me to play jazz with uke. I am just accompanying myself with songs. There you seldom see C#, though I don't find it difficult, 1114.
Anything that far away from C in circle of fifths gets only in instrumental solos for sure as common ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths
Enharmonically it is more commonly called Db, a 5 b flat key.

UkingVikng,
kkimora and chr66is already did in this thread. E is not with uke any big bluesy chord like in guitar. Use 1x02 (See my reply in this thread for the proper way to play it.) when you need play it. It is also close to E7. The 1402 does not sound any bigger, it is just harder to finger. And it is important imo to have E-note as open as it is a bit high root. With re-entrant uke you can't play blues much in a key of E, if in any key. Also A and B7 have roots as high notes.

zztush, ukantor,
it could be just my age, we all get some problems with joints. I am sure of playing it quite right already. It just is not my fave relaxed play chord and I have to concentrate and it sort of hurts :(
I do use the classical guitar thumb behind the neck for even harder Dm6 2212.
 
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UkingVikng,
kkimora and chr66is already did in this thread. E is not with uke any big bluesy chord like in guitar. Use 1x02 (See my reply in this thread for the proper way to play it.) when you need play it. It is also close to E7. The 1402 does not sound any bigger, it is just harder to finger. And it is important imo to have E-note as open as it is a bit high root. With re-entrant uke you can't play blues much in a key of E, if in any key. Also A and B7 have roots as high notes.

The E chord I have trouble with is 4442. What's the fingering for your 1x02 E chord?
 
The E chord I have trouble with is 4442. What's the fingering for your 1x02 E chord?

Don't mute it with your second finger that is pressed for E7. Use your index finger that is pressed for G# in fourth string 1st fret, the 3rd of E chord. Mute the C string with it. Notice also that 1x02 is a re-entrant ukulele fingering. If you have a low G uke, then this is not for you.

That second finger mute is not ok. Most people think that lift just a finger from E7, but no. Be careful not to mute also the E-string while muting the C string. That is all ;)

For low G there is also 4447, no need for that 4442.
 
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Don't mute it with your second finger that is pressed for E7. Use your index finger that is pressed for G# in fourth string 1st fret, the 3rd of E chord. Mute the C string with it. Notice also that 1x02 is a re-entrant ukulele fingering. If you have a low G uke, then this is not for you.

That second finger mute is not ok. Most people think that lift just a finger from E7, but no. Be careful not to mute also the E-string while muting the C string. That is all ;)

For low G there is also 4447, no need for that 4442.

So the the C string needs to be muted at the first fret?
 
So the the C string needs to be muted at the first fret?

How can you mute it otherwise? We are basically talking about E7 with lifting the second finger: https://ukulele-chords.com/E7
To try mute the C string with that finger is bad! No such things as muting a string with a fretting fingertip. A bad idea!
You have your first finger playing G# on 4th string. Tilt it slightly so it mutes also the 3rd string same time. Use it or forget what I told.
Basically what I am telling is the only accepted way of muting, except some like me accept also thumb muting, which is not the case in here or usable.

Notice this technique don't have many uses, in guitar we have the "folk" G: 3x0003 as another example.
 
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How can you mute it otherwise? We are basically talking about E7 with lifting the second finger: https://ukulele-chords.com/E7
To try mute the C string with that finger is bad! No such things as muting a string with a fretting fingertip. A bad idea!
You have your first finger playing G# on 4th string. Tilt it slightly so it mutes also the 3rd string same time. Use it or forget what I told.
Basically what I am telling is the only accepted way of muting, except some like me accept also thumb muting, which is not the case in here or usable.

Notice this technique don't have many uses, in guitar we have the "folk" G: 3x0003 as another example.

Ah so, you mute with the index finger that is playing the G# on the 4th string with an open E string and the A string fretted with the ring finger! Thanks for clarifying that for me! Your patience and desire to help is appreciated.
 
Hi, Jarmo!

ripock, your way of doing things for Dm don't work for me. I can't bend my finger backwards like that, nor I can with nylon strings mute a G string with a finger pressed on C.

It is not difficult if I explain it in person. We just need to put our middle finger in between 3rd and 4th finger (see the figure below). We don't and should not bend the finger backwards.



I know we still need practice.
 
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