Ukulele Chord Shapes

Whether you are an intermediate player looking for your first guide to understanding the fretboard or a seasoned pro in need of a complete reference to complex harmonies, there’s no more detailed and comprehensive a book than ‘s Ukulele Chord Shapes ebook.

With in-depth and easy-to-understand explanations of chord theory and applications, this method can quickly expand your chord vocabulary twelvefold.

andrew kitakis“Brad has created the best ukulele chord book I’ve seen to date.”

Andrew Kitakis, Owner of Hawaiʻi Music Supply

A good ukulele chord chart is one of the most important learning tools you can have. Unfortunately, many other chord books waste time and pages showing the same repeating diagrams – often with very little information explaining them!

Ukulele Chord Shapes is different. It presents a streamlined view of chords, eliminating extraneous memorization and clutter.

This reduces your mental workload by 12x when learning new chords and shapes, freeing up space for useful background information about how chords work and using them on the fretboard.

The Method:

Ukulele Chord Shapes presents chords in a different light than other books: as movable shapes. In this way you can reduce mental clutter and make learning chords 12 times more efficient.

Each shape in the book shows a highlighted root that easily allows you to move a single chord shape into all twelve keys.

chord shape diagrams

james hill“If you have questions about ukulele chords, Ukulele Chord Shapes has the answers.”

James Hill

But Ukulele Chord Shapes is a lot more than just a reference book. It’s also an in-depth look at the theory and concepts that drive intelligent chordal playing.

Learn how to build chords via easy, step-by-step instructions, how to finger them, and how to select the appropriate shapes for your music.

With Ukulele Chord Shapes You Get:

  • Descriptions, symbols, and formulas for each chord type
  • Straightforward content that’s easy to read and use
  • A mobile-friendly PDF delivered almost instantly
  • A plain-English chapter on chord theory
  • A detailed guide to using the book
  • Big, user-friendly chord diagrams
  • 38 diverse chord families
  • 189 chord shapes
  • 61 pages

Download the Ebook

$14.99

Select tuning version:

Standard – GCEA
Baritone – DGBE

Order a Print Copy

If you’d like the luxury of a printed copy (GCEA version only), they’re available through the button below.

I encourage people with appropriate technology to consider getting the ebook since it’s cheaper, more eco-friendly, and delivered immediately, but if you’re willing to wait, there’s no substitute for a real book.

Expect budget shipping to be $5-8 and slow (it takes 3+ weeks for me to get a proof copy, but maybe it’s just Hawaiʻi shipping). NO RETURNS OR REFUNDS due to the nature of print-on-demand publishing.

$20.88

Order GCEA Print Book

david lund“…if I could only own one ukulele-related book, this would be it. I use it all the time.”

David Lund – Staatsburg, New York

What Other People Are Saying:

“I can find nothing that would improve this work. It is a masterful treatment of the subject and you are to be congratulated. The time spent to grasp the theory and principals you outline has proven invaluable to me, as I’m sure it would be to any ukulelist.”
David Sellers
“I’ve read a lot of different descriptions of chord shapes and yours is by far the clearest. You’ve answered some really basic questions that I had that no one else seemed to think were important.”
Jeanette – Champaign, IL
“…I probably have over a hundred dollars worth of uke books that this concisely puts in 55 pages.”
Dave Nye – San Jose, California
“Brad Bordessa has captured a comprehensive look at chords and shapes in a way that makes the whole picture easy and fun to see by a beginner to music, and at the same time gives all the information any pro would need to quickly capture the best path to harmony on this instrument… Great book – well done.”
Daniel Ward, Musician and Educator
“[Brad] has produced this outstanding instructional book combining hands on teaching with music theory that is both understandable for the beginner and detailed enough for the seasoned ukulele player.”
George Kahumoku, Jr., Grammy Award-winning musician
“Brad Bordessa is truly a quality person who embodies the ALOHA spirit. An excellent teacher who really cares about people.

I, without hesitation, encourage anyone interested in playing/becoming better at playing the ukulele to not only check this e-book but also his other two, Left Hand Technique for Ukulele AND Right Hand Technique for Ukulele.”

Wes Suzawa – Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
“Brad’s new book is as good as anything I have used, in any format.”
Shaun Deane – Brattleboro, Vermont
“Just read through your Ukulele Chord Shapes eBook and it is really a GREAT book! … For those learning ukulele and struggling with chord shapes, no need to look any further or invest heavily on other books.”
Linda Tan – Singapore
“Your book on baritone chords is excellent. […] it is the most comprehensive chord reference I know of.”
Zachary Taylor
“Ukulele Chord Shapes … is extremely well written and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book for the ukulele player who wants to expand their knowledge and understanding of chords to a new level!”
Patrick Drigans – Buffalo, Minnesota
“Well organized, concise, thorough information. Have immediately improved my technical knowledge and mechanical competence. Well worth the investment.”
David
“Very useful and practical.”
Marek Frnka – Czech Republic
“Great book…! Each type of chord is explained, and so helps to understand how to harmonize the music, the layout is very clear and all the necessary information is there. By practicing a little every day, we assimilate the whole neck in a few weeks and that’s fantastic…! An example of clear and well thought-out, very good work… I recommend this book for all levels of learning, as understanding is essential in the practice of an instrument.”
Philippe Herzog

Common Questions About Ukulele Chord Shapes:

Why are there two versions of the book?

There is one book for standard GCEA players and one for baritone DGBE players.

The content and concept is the same in each book, but the examples and illustrations are transposed specifically for each tuning.

If you play both standard and baritone, get the Ukulele Chord Shapes version for the tuning you use most. Once you’re familiar with how to use the book, it’s easy to use it for the other tuning as well.

What level player is this book for?

Ukulele Chord Shapes is not a chord book for newbies and will be a confusing place to start for someone just seeking basic diagrams. It’s a method for understanding the fretboard better and requires some background knowledge to get the most out of. I recommend it for advanced-beginner and up players and those with musical backgrounds.

That said, I have utterly beginning students who are “thinkers” and understand the concepts in the book intellectually, even if they don’t understand the musical underpinnings.

As for advanced players, there aren’t many pros that use even 75% of the chords in this book. So, unless you’re a chord weirdo like Benny Chong, it will be a lifetime resource.

What chords families are in the book?

Each chord family presented in Ukulele Chord Shapes has at least four moveable shapes (many have a few more). This gives you arrangement options for any situation.

  • Major
  • Major 6th
  • Major 6/9
  • Major 7th
  • Major 7(b5)
  • Major 7(#5)
  • Major 9th
  • Minor
  • Minor 6th
  • Minor 6/9
  • Minor 7th
  • Minor 7(b5)
  • Minor 7(#5)
  • Minor (Major 7th)
  • Minor 9th
  • Minor 11th
  • Dominant 7th
  • Dominant 9th
  • Dominant 11th
  • Dominant 13th
  • Dominant 13(b9)
  • Dominant 7(b5)
  • Dominant 7(#5)
  • Dominant 7(b9)
  • Dominant 7(#9)
  • Dominant 7(b5b9)
  • Dominant 7(b5#9)
  • Dominant 7(#5b9)
  • Dominant 7(#5#9)
  • Suspended 2
  • Suspended 4
  • Suspended 7th
  • Add 9
  • Add 11
  • Diminished
  • Diminished 7th
  • Augmented
  • Slash Chords*

* = Special detailed section.

Do I need to know theory to understand the book?

I sure hope not! The moveable shape concept is a simple spatial pattern that should be easy for even a play-by-ear musician to understand.

If you want to dive deeper there is a section on theory guiding you step-by-step through all that is required to build and understand chords. Essentially, you’ll be able to reverse-engineer any ukulele chord by the time you’re done.

Where do I get the print version?

At the link below. Please note that only the GCEA version is available in print at this time.

Buy from Lulu for $20.88

What’s up with the money-back guarantee on the ebook?

It’s simple. Ukulele Chord Shapes is written to be hands-down the most extensive and useful chord resource available to ukulele players.

If you’re not happy with the ebook, I don’t want your money.

Just drop me a line if you aren’t satisfied with your purchase and I will send you a full refund – no questions asked.

Please note: I can only honor this with the ebook version. The physical book is printed on demand per order and cannot be returned by me or anyone else.

So how do I contact you?

If you need a hand purchasing the book, have any questions at all, or are struggling with the download, send me an email:

brad@liveukulele.com

Download the Ebook

Select tuning version:

Standard – GCEA
Baritone – DGBE

$14.99