Ukulele Underground

Uke Minutes 17 – Movable Chord Shapes

So here we are again, friends. The time has come for us to hang out together, happily enjoying yet another: UKE MINUTES! This time, we’ve brought y’all some Movable Chord Shapes to play around with.

Just in case you missed that 3-second bubbly image of basic Major Chord Shapes and Minor Chord Shapes, here it is again:

*Remember* This process works for all chord types, too, not just majors and minors. You can use it on 7ths, 9ths, Major7ths, diminshed-ths – whatever you want! Any chord that you know can be moved up or down the fretboard (as far as you fretboard allows). Moving a chord shape up one fret raises the key a half step. Two frets up raises the key a whole step.

For your reference, here are all the note names in half-step intervals:

C | C#(Db) | D | D#(Eb) | E | F | F#(Gb) | G | G#(Ab) | A | A#(Bb) | B

Once you get to the end (B), it loops around back to the beginning (C). For example, if you held a Bb chord (3211) and moved the entire chord shape up a half step – or one fret (4322) – then the chord would become a B. If you moved it another fret up (5433), it would become a C. This fingering would be an “alternate fingering” for your standard C chord (0003).

Thanks a lot, everyone. If you have any questions, comments, ideas, things to chime in, please post away at the FORUM! Let the discussions begin!

Love Always,
- UU Stafff