Constructing ‘Ukulele Chords

Learning how an ‘ukulele chord is spelled or constructed can be really useful. Not only do you know how a chord is put together, but you can deduce the notes for other chords that you might not know. The notes come from the root scale (the chord name note would be the root – Cm would use a C major scale, A would come from an A major scale, D7 would come from a D major scale, etc…) and are specified using the roman numeral system. It’s not always roman numerals that are shown, standard numbers serve the same purpose. Starting with the first note of the scale the number system counts up to 8 (or 1) – the root.

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8(1)
C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C

A major chord is made up of the root note (1), a 3rd (3), and a 5th (5). You would take those numbers (1, 3, 5) out of the scale – C E G.

1     3     5
C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C

Now if you play a C chord you will notice that C E G are the notes you are playing. The key to learning about how chords are spelled is learning the notes that you need to pick out of the scale (C E G). So here are the spellings of the main chords:

Major: 1 3 5
Minor: 1 b3 5
7th: 1 3 5 b7

The b3 and b7 means just that: take the 3rd or 7th note from the scale and make it flat (move it down (towards the nut) one fret). The 3rd note is important in a chord because it gives ether a happy (major) or sad (minor) sound. A normal 3rd signifies a major chord and a b3rd indicates a minor. So out of the C scale you would end up with these notes:

Major: 1 3 5 - C E G
Minor: 1 b3 5 - C Eb G
7th: 1 3 5 b7 - C E G Bb

Now I’ll show you how to work in reverse. Say you need to know a Gm6 chord for the song you are playing and the only minor 6th chord you know is Cm6. You can take that Cm6 and use it to figure out the Gm6. The notes of Cm6 are: C Eb G and A. Write out the root scale and highlight those notes (don’t worry about flats or sharps yet).

V   V   V V
C D E F G A B C

Now add the proper numbers above the notes to figure out the formula. All of the notes are normal except for the Eb. To show the Eb just flat the number when you add it to the scale.

1    b3     5  6
C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C

So now that you have the numbers of the notes, you can add them to a G scale and figure out Gm6

1    b3     5  6
G  A  B  C  D  E  F#  G

Same numbers, different scale.

So take the notes under the numbers (G Bb D E) and locate them in a playable fashion on the fretboard. You would end up with something like: 0201.

Some chord spellings are going to have too many notes to fit on the ‘ukulele, so you have to do some selective omitting. Note that some notes are more vital to the sound of the chord than others.

Other chord spellings are:

Major 6th: 1 3 5 6
Major 7th: 1 3 5 7
Add 9th: 1 3 5 9
Major 9th: 1 3 5 7 9 (omit root)
6th/9th: 1 3 5 6 9 (omit root)
9th: 1 3 5 b7 9 (omit root)*
Minor 6th: 1 b3 5 6
Minor 7th: 1 b3 5 b7*
Diminished: 1 b3 b5
Diminished 7th: 1 b3 b5 bb7
Augmented: 1 3 #5

*Extended chord are chords that add notes to a 7th shape. Being as the ‘ukulele is already maxed out with a 4 note 7th chord, these are not very practical to figure out. Each extension does add a different sound, but for every new sound you must omit a note. Extended chords include 9th, 11th and 13th chords.