I hate B flat

Bob-in-Alberta

Bob-in-Alberta

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As my title states, I hate this cord. I need some encouragement, it does get better with time, right? I just recently took part in some group lessons and when we got to B flat it sounded horrible so I assume that I'm not alone.
 
Just play an A# instead. :biglaugh:

:smileybounce: :smileybounce:

Keep trying. It's the same shape as F on guitar. On a guitar. the larger neck makes it easier. Either make a barre chord out of it or mash it.

E chord is my nemesis.
 
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Start doing a spider exercise daily. I couldn't hit it for years...YEARS...until I did spiders three times a day for two months. Thanks to Hal Kinneman my teacher on Kauai. Great teacher.
 
Playing B flat is a challenge at first.

Some people find it can be a little less of a finger-twister if they apply a barre (fret all four strings) at the first fret with the pointer finger, rather than just using the pointer to fret the E and A string. (Some people find this even more challenging, though.)

Once you've found the least uncomfortable method of playing B flat for you, find a song you love that uses B flat sparingly to add to your uke practice routine. Play it every day, just enough to get frustrated with its difficulty. With time, playing B flat will begin to feel natural. (You may need a few songs you love to get you all the way to this point without tiring of playing the same thing.)
 
shoot i'm still having problems getting to 'G'. At this point I don't even try an 'E'. Only been playing since september, though.
 
I guess I'm one of those that everyone loves to hate - the Bb chord never bothered me.

Even when I was learning to play guitar, many decades ago, the F chord (same shape) wasn't an issue.

I started out using my index finger on the first string, first fret, the middle finger on 2nd string, first fret, ring finger on third string, 2nd fret, and pinky on 4th string, 3rd fret.

Keeping in mind that this makes it difficult to change to just about anything but the chord shape that is Eb on Uke, Bb on guitar, doing it often makes it easier. After a while, I started just putting the index finger on 2nd string, 1st fret, middle finger on 3rd string 2nd fret, ring finger on 4th string 3rd fret, and then just laying the index finger across the 1st string, 1st fret as well. This also makes it easy to slide up to a C chord.

Again, as Ralf said, it takes practice. But it really is worth it.

-Kurt​
 
There's folks who'll play a Gm7 in lieu of A# (Bb) . . .
 
Bb is a fingerbreaker for me to. Everytime I think I got it right and smooth the sound is just awful. Practise
 
It all depends on what chord you're transitioning to as to where to play on the FB. Honestly, the more you practice, the more comfortable you'll be with it.
 
Kanaka916 said:
There's folks who'll play a Gm7 in lieu of A# (Bb) . . .
Click to expand...

this is a good alternative and does'nt sound that different, good shout Kanaka
 
First - try the full finger barre - that's probably already been recommended.

Second, have your uke setup checked. If it's really hard to barre at the first fret, and especially if the chord actually sounds bad, some or even all of the nut slots may be too high. Makes it hard to finger and pulls the tuning sharp at the first couple of frets.

John
 
But is it an issue with the nut holding the strings, or with the nut holding the ukulele?

See what I did there? ;)
 
I'd go with the nut holding the ukulele as its the same problem with a Mainland or a KoAloha. the constant to the problem is me.
 
Sorry Bob, I was just joking. You'll get the hang of it. Just drop your wrist so you can arch your 2nd & 3rd fingers cleanly over the first two strings and press your fingertips straight down on the 3rd & 4th strings. Maybe practice making an 'A' chord with your 2nd & 3rd fingers, then move it up one fret and grab the first two strings with your 1st finger (or bar all four strings at the 1st fret). Also, try to relax and not contort your left hand or press too hard.

I had a similar problem with the 'E' chord for a long time, but then it just started coming to me, and now I can grab it cleanly (most of the time). :)
 
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As Steed says, it's mostly having the wrist in the proper position. Try making the chord shape with different angles of the wrist and raising or lowering the uke to get the proper angle.

And as John suggested; get your uke setup if it hasn't been done professionally. If you bought it off the rack and is not from someone like HMS, Mims or Uke Republic, it probably hasn't been setup outside of the factory. Usually the factories set their action higher than necessary.

I like a radiused fretboard very much but it's mainly for barring up the neck. I doubt it would help making a Bb first position. Ya need to strengthen up those fingers; that's done with practise.
 
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kauaijim said:
Start doing a spider exercise daily. I couldn't hit it for years...YEARS...until I did spiders three times a day for two months. Thanks to Hal Kinneman my teacher on Kauai. Great teacher.
Click to expand...

Hadn't heard of those. I knew a few other exercises. Thanks for the tip. I just looked up a video on it.
I will be doing spider exercises now.
 
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