Learn
Reading Chord Diagrams
Learn what the strings, frets, dots, finger numbers, open strings, and muted strings mean.
The diagram is a map of the neck
Imagine the ukulele standing upright in front of you, with the headstock at the top.
The four vertical lines are the strings. In standard tuning they read G, C, E, A from left to right. The horizontal lines are fret wires, and the spaces between them are fret positions. A thick line at the top is the nut, the start of the playable neck.
A dot tells you where to press a string. Put your fingertip inside the target fret space, close to its body-side wire without sitting on top of it, and press only hard enough for the note to ring cleanly.
Dots, fingers, open strings, and muted strings
Example: C major
The same chord can have more than one shape, or voicing.
Open position
Higher voicing
In the common open C shape, the A string is pressed at the third fret while the other three strings ring open. A diagram that starts higher on the neck shows a fret number beside the first visible fret instead of drawing the nut.
Open any entry in the chord library to see its standard shape and available alternatives.