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| baritone uke chords - Baritone Uke - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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luleblue Approved 
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I am a total 'newbie' to the uke, and not too smart when it comes to music/notes either but have picked up a little bit playing my Q-Chord. I've always wanted to play guitar and could never get the hang of getting my fingers around all 6 strings, so thought I'd try the baritone uke. Just got it last week and I've been looking at the chord charts on 'ezfolk.com'. Not sure I understand, but does what they show for each chord mean that there are that many different ways to play that chord? like 9 to 11 in some instances? Hope I'm not showing too much ignorance here. Also it seems there are a lot more sites with info on chording/playing etc. with the uke chorded as GCEA? Any other good ones you may know of?? Thanks for any help. luleblue
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Will Approved 
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Unlike a keyboard, where is one unique key to play each musical note, on a fretted instrument like a baritone uke (or guitar) there are multiple places on the fretboard to play the same note. There are thus many alternate chord shapes for the same chord name; each version of the chord has a different sound (called "voicing"). However, if you are learning as a beginner, you will be using what are called "first position open chord" shapes which are concentrated on fretting near the end of the neck. The chord shapes usually have one or more unfretted (called "open") strings, so it is usually unncessary to fret all four strings on most chords. If you are playing chords on a baritone uke, you are playing modified guitar chords without the low E and A strings. Some baritone uke song books will contain small fretboard diagrams along with the chords, showing you how to make the chord shapes. Last edited on Thu Mar 6th, 2008 08:39 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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ezmember Approved
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I'm getting the impression that the three other kinds of Ukes (Soprano, Concert, Tenor) are more popular for "uke" playing...that higher pitched sound. Hence, the GCEA tuning and the greater number of chord charts and song tabs/chords for those ukes. The Baritone is a wonderful instrument, its sound is simply more like that of a guitar. You may want to just start collecting them all, like the rest of us.  And it's very do-able compared to playing the guitar. You'll catch on quick. Stick around here and read all the old posts, they're full of good information for beginners and everybody else too.
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luleblue Approved
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I saw two ladies just recently at an RV park jam session with baritone ukes, and I THOUGHT they said you could play the chords on the uke with one finger on the left hand. That is why I ran out and bought one, thinking I could handle that. But from what I'm seeing on the chord chart, that is not the case. So of course I'm very disappointed. I'm afraid I'm still going to have the same problem I had trying to play the guitar. So I'm a little discouraged already. luleblue
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Will Approved
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luleblue wrote: I saw two ladies just recently at an RV park jam session with baritone ukes, and I THOUGHT they said you could play the chords on the uke with one finger on the left hand. That is why I ran out and bought one, thinking I could handle that. But from what I'm seeing on the chord chart, that is not the case. So of course I'm very disappointed. I'm afraid I'm still going to have the same problem I had trying to play the guitar. So I'm a little discouraged already. luleblue You can play only ONE common chord with one finger on a baritone uke, G major. The only other instrument I know of where chords can be played with one finger is the autoharp, which is the first string instrument I learned how to play. You push a chord button down with a finger on your left hand and you strum across the strings with a thumb pick on your right hand. When you press down on a chord button on the autoharp, felt pads come down and mute the non-harmonizing strings, so that you get a perfect chord in several octaves. A autoharp can be purchased for well under $200. The 21-chord model is easier to play than the slightly cheaper 15-chord model. If this sounds like an instrument you would be interested in, visit the Autoharp Forum here at ezFolk: http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/forum49/ http://www.music123.com/LMI-21-Chord-Chordharp-470071-i1145055.Music123  http://www.music123.com/LMI-15-Chord-Chromaharp-470069-i1145053.Music123 \ 
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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rskelley Approved
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Tune the baritone (or any uke) to an open chord shape and one can play a chord with one finger. I don't think you won't find a chord diagram for open chord tuning though.
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Will Approved
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If you tune the high string of your baritone lower from E to D, you will get what is called an open-G tuning. Simply strumming all 4 strings without pressing down on the strings is called an open chord. You can shorten the length of the strings if you lay your left index finger (called a "barre") with your thumb on the back of the neck; barre across all 4 strings at different fret positions. This will give you only major chords, and will not give you minor, 7th, or other chords. Barre on fret #: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Major open chord:G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E F F# G
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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luleblue Approved
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Hello again, thanks for your help, although I'm not sure I totally understand your last post. Are you saying that if I hold down all 4 strings at one time on one fret, going down the frets, beginning with the top being G, that I can get each chord that way? I had a problem doing that, but when I did try it the E string didn't sound right. Also, I was wondering about the chords on the ezfolk.com site. For instance on C chord, there are a few of the charts that have a dotted line on the upper or the lower string. Does that mean you don't strum that string? I know that it takes C, E, and G to make the C chord, and sometimes it will show two E's or two G's, is that giving you a choice of which fret/string you want to use? And the number at the end of the chart, is that the finger number? Sorry for so many questions, but I didn't see any explanation to these things. The music sounds right when I play it following these ideas, but just want to be sure I'm doing it right, before I go too far. Thanks again. luleblue
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Will Approved
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luleblue wrote: Hello again, thanks for your help, although I'm not sure I totally understand your last post. Are you saying that if I hold down all 4 strings at one time on one fret, going down the frets, beginning with the top being G, that I can get each chord that way? I had a problem doing that, but when I did try it the E string didn't sound right. Also, I was wondering about the chords on the ezfolk.com site. For instance on C chord, there are a few of the charts that have a dotted line on the upper or the lower string. Does that mean you don't strum that string? I know that it takes C, E, and G to make the C chord, and sometimes it will show two E's or two G's, is that giving you a choice of which fret/string you want to use? And the number at the end of the chart, is that the finger number? Sorry for so many questions, but I didn't see any explanation to these things. The music sounds right when I play it following these ideas, but just want to be sure I'm doing it right, before I go too far. Thanks again. luleblue I was trying to follow up on rskelley's post, who suggested that if you were finding it difficult to fret different strings for chords, that an open tuning would allow you to at least play major chords by using the same exact fingering pattern (a "barre" finger laid across all 4 strings at different frets). This ONLY works if you DON'T follow the standard tuning for baritone uke; instead of tuning DGBE, tune it to DGBD. That is, tune the high string so that it is one note LOWER than E. DGBD are all notes within the G major chord, so that you can strum all 4 without using your fret hand, but other chords would require changing the length of all of the strings in a uniform manner, but using the barre finger. If you choose to play open tuning, you will not be able to use the baritone uke chord charts.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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BartlebysUke Approved 
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Lule, boy oh boy do I ever feel for you. I was in the same kind of place just two years ago. All of the stuff online seemed overwhelming, and four strings was starting to seem just as bad as six. The breakthrough for me came when I sat down with another player—who wasn't that much morer experienced than I was—who was I was able to mimic and observe and talk to. We didn't even spend that long at it; maybe one session of 20-40 minutes. But it was the difference between success and failure. Seriously, if I can play the Ukelele, anyone with fingers on their left hand can. Don't give up on yourself. But do find another player to help you get started. It will be worth it, I swear. I don't think I have ever been so glad about trying something new in my whole life.
____________________ exegi monumentum aere perennis. |
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Baritone Uke > baritone uke chords | |
