Ukulele Chord Finder
Look up how to play any ukulele chord with clear fingering diagrams and alternate voicings, for standard GCEA tuning.
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Standard tuning (GCEA), G string on the left. ✕ = don't play · ○ = open string · numbered dot = which finger to press with.
Four strings hold a seventh chord exactly, and a triad with one to spare
Every voicing in the database these diagrams are drawn from — 974 of them, and every single one sounding all four strings — sorted by how many notes the chord is supposed to contain.
| Chord asks for | Voicings | Complete | With a doubled note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 notes (triads) | 288 | all | all |
| 4 notes (sevenths) | 432 | all | none |
| 5 notes | 144 | none | none |
| 6 notes | 110 | none | none |
None of that is a judgement call. Three notes on four strings means one has to appear twice. Four notes on four strings is an exact fit with nothing spare. Five notes on four strings is arithmetic, and something has to go — all 254 of the extended voicings are incomplete, and they are the only incomplete ones in the set.
The spare string goes to the root, and the third is protected
When a triad has a string left over, something has to be played twice. Across all 288 triad voicings, this is what it turns out to be.
| Doubled note | Voicings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| root | 122 | 42% |
| 5th | 103 | 36% |
| 3rd | 50 | 17% |
| 4th | 13 | 5% |
The third — the one note that decides whether a chord is major or minor — is doubled least of the three. That is the right instinct: doubling it thickens the one interval you most want to hear cleanly. C major on this instrument is G C E C, three notes across four strings with the root twice.
And when something has to go, it is always the root
A ninth chord wants five notes and an eleventh wants six. There are four strings.
| Chord | Spelled | Played here | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C E G | G C E C | nothing |
| Am | A C E | A C E A | nothing |
| C7 | C E G Bb | G C E Bb | nothing |
| C9 | C E G Bb D | G D E Bb | root |
| C11 | C E G Bb D F | D F Bb E | root and 5th |
C9 is spelled C E G B♭ D and is played G D E B♭. There is no C anywhere in it. C11 has given up the root and the fifth both. The root goes first in all 254 incomplete voicings without a single exception, and the fifth goes second in 110 of them.
That reads like vandalism and is standard practice. The root is the most predictable note in a chord — the name tells you it is there, and in any group a bass supplies it. The colour notes are the ones that would be missed, so those are the ones that stay. It does mean an extended chord on four strings is a different chord from the one the name promises.
How to use
- Choose the root and chord type.
- Read the diagram — four strings, GCEA from left.
- Try alternate voicings higher up the neck.
- Learn a handful of movable shapes.
Frequently asked questions
What is standard ukulele tuning?
G, C, E and A, with the G conventionally tuned above the C rather than below — reentrant tuning. It means the strings do not run low to high across the instrument, which gives the ukulele its characteristic bright, jangly sound.
What is reentrant tuning and why does it matter?
A tuning where the strings are not in ascending pitch order. On a ukulele the fourth string is higher than the third, so strumming produces a chime rather than a bass-up chord. Low-G tuning replaces it with a lower string, extending the range at the cost of that signature sound.
Is the ukulele easier than the guitar?
In the early stages, considerably — four strings, nylon under low tension, and short reaches make the first chords far more accessible than a barre chord on steel strings. That gap narrows as you go, since the ukulele's own advanced repertoire is not simple.
Do guitar chord shapes transfer?
The shapes do, at a different name. A ukulele is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar with a capo at the fifth fret, so a guitar D shape gives a G on the ukulele. Guitarists picking one up find the shapes familiar and the names wrong, which is worth knowing in advance.
What are the different ukulele sizes?
Soprano, concert, tenor and baritone in ascending size. The first three share GCEA tuning with different scale lengths and volume; the baritone is tuned DGBE, exactly like the top four strings of a guitar, which makes it a genuinely different instrument to chord on.
Why do my chords buzz?
Usually finger placement — pressing behind the fret rather than on it, or not quite enough pressure. Nylon strings need less force than steel, and pressing too hard pulls the note sharp. Old strings that have gone dull also buzz and are worth changing.
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