Chords for How To Play an E Chord on Ukulele - Beginner Ukulele Tutorial

Tempo:
141.75 bpm
Chords used:

E

A

G

D

B

Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Show Tuner
How To Play an E Chord on Ukulele - Beginner Ukulele Tutorial chords
Start Jamming...
Alright, the E chord.
Bum, bum, bum.
The dreaded E chord.
A lot of people have problems with this one,
but it's an important chord with the ukulele.
Unfortunately, there's no real way around it.
So what are we going to do?
I'm going to teach you how to play the E chord
in about six different shapes, okay?
So at least this way you can choose which one is more comfortable for you.
You have a variety of options,
and you can understand how the chord works a little better,
and when you can kind of massage it a little bit
to be a little easier, okay?
So I want you to grab your brain, grab your ukulele,
grab your attention span, 10thumbspro.com.
New songs every Saturday, new songs every Wednesday,
plus bonus lessons like these when we can, okay?
So check it out.
Learn for free.
But let's break this lesson down right now.
Follow me on it.
Alright, so let's go ahead and look at all the different ways
we can make an E, some of their advantages,
and some of their disadvantages.
The first one, the one you're going to see in a lot of ukulele books,
the classic, looks like this.
What are the disadvantages [G] to this one?
The disadvantage is it's not a very comfortable chord.
[E]
The advantages is it kind of sits in that mid-range,
[D] and it is the same as this D chord, just [E] a slide up.
[G] So some tips on learning this [D] one.
What you're going to do is [B]
it's the 4th fret of the G,
4th fret [E] of the C, 4th fret of the A,
and the [Bm] 2nd fret, [C#] I'm sorry, 4th fret of [Bm] the E,
and 2nd fret of the A.
[D] The easiest [D] way is once you get your D down,
and you're a master of a D chord,
to take [Em] that D and slide it up one, [E] two frets.
But keep that similar, and practice just these three notes.
And as you practice, you can go ahead and reach down
and get this on there.
I like to keep my elbow in towards my ribs,
because I find it is a little easier to play
if I keep my elbow into my ribs.
This is the go-to E shape, and it's difficult,
but in a lot of ways, it's going to be [C] your standard E shape.
We can also play an E like this.
[C]
Advantages.
You have an open [E] E string,
I give it a drone, and make it feel more like a bass.
On a guitar, [G] the E chord is the lowest chord,
and this is not the lowest chord.
[G]
So if you're playing in the key of E,
and you want a nice [Em] low sound, I would recommend this shape.
[B] What are we doing?
First finger, first [G#] fret of the G [C] string.
Pinky finger, fourth fret of the C string.
[A#] This is going to be where it's going to get difficult for you guys.
[E] This is why a lot of people shy away from this chord,
but I would recommend having it in the bag,
as with all these E shapes, they're important to have.
Open E string, and your middle finger
on the second fret of the A string.
This is what I play when I want my E
to be as low as possible, or when I want that open drone string.
[Am] [G]
[B] [E]
Alright, we also have an E right here.
[D] This is when I want my E to sound high.
It's the same four [E] strings that you did on the first shape,
but we're just [C#m] going to bar the entire fourth fret,
and [G#] we're going to take our ring finger [E] here on the seventh fret
of the A string.
This is an E note.
Now, I don't think this sounds very good, for example, [A] to go from A.
I [E]
[A] think it's a pretty big jump, but if you're playing something like a reggae,
[E] I think it definitely sounds the best.
Alright?
[A]
[E] So I would use this bar chord
[G#] in reggae situations, [G] funk situations, bar chord situations.
Alright, another option you have is way up [E] here,
and this would be based [A] on this A shape up here,
and I'm barring [Em] the seventh fret,
[N] middle finger on the eighth fret of the C shape.
I'm going to use this E note on the fourth fret of the G shape.
I'm going to use my ring finger on the [E] ninth fret of the G shape.
I don't use this one very often because on a ukulele,
you run out of space and it gets pretty thin.
It has very little sustain, but if I'm playing rhythm with two ukuleles
and someone's playing an E chord up there,
I might add [E]
a little [C#] flavor with some stabs.
So I'm going to use this [F#] E when I want to add E stabs.
[C#] Alright, another option you have is [E] this one,
and that is laying your finger flat across the fourth fret,
back to where we started [N] the first one,
and then [A] muting this [E] A string.
And you would use this E [A] in just a regular context.
To illustrate that example, I'm going to do an A,
[Am] [D] C, [E] [A] A,
A, [D] C.
[A] Alright, but [Dm] be careful not to press them all down because if you get that in there,
[F]
then you're actually going to be playing a [N] D minor 7.
We don't want a D minor [F] 7, we want an E major.
Alright?
So there are a couple different shapes for your E chord,
how I use them, when I use them, and why I use them.
So enjoy those E shapes,
and hopefully you get this chord, [A#] and hopefully you find one that you're comfortable with,
and hopefully [B] eventually you get them all.
Hey, [G] 10thumbspro.com, check us out, thumbs up if it helped [E] you,
and until next time, [C]
ciao ciao!
[N] Alright, that was the E chord!
E is for excellent, and now you got it under your fingers.
So what I want you to do is keep on practicing, keep on playing it,
if it's still difficult for you, make it a point just to practice the E chord.
Make it a point just to play it when you can,
and I think that a little bit, 5 minutes a day, messing with that,
you'll get it in about a week or so.
It's different for everybody, but keep sticking with it because it's a really important chord.
10thumbspro.com, check out patreon.com slash 10thumbspro.
That's our digital tip jar, for as little as $1 a month,
as little as $1 a month, you can help us grow.
And what are we doing with that money?
We're putting it into 10thumbs,
you're helping us, we're helping spread music around the world,
ukulele's a great thing, and we appreciate your help,
helping us to spread the love, peace, and happiness that is ukulele around the world.
Alright, 10thumbspro.com, a big hug, thumbs up if it helped you, take care.
Key:  
E
2311
A
1231
G
2131
D
1321
B
12341112
E
2311
A
1231
G
2131
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_ _ Alright, the E chord.
Bum, bum, bum.
The dreaded E chord.
A lot of people have problems with this one,
but it's an important chord with the ukulele.
Unfortunately, there's no real way around it.
So what are we going to do? _
I'm going to teach you how to play the E chord
in about six different shapes, okay?
So at least this way you can choose which one is more comfortable for you.
You have a variety of options,
and you can understand how the chord works a little better,
and when you can kind of massage it a little bit
to be a little easier, okay?
So I want you to grab your brain, grab your ukulele,
grab your attention span, 10thumbspro.com.
New songs every Saturday, new songs every Wednesday,
plus bonus lessons like these when we can, okay?
So check it out.
Learn for free.
But let's break this lesson down right now.
Follow me on it. _
Alright, so let's go ahead and look at all the different ways
we can make an E, some of their advantages,
and some of their disadvantages.
The first one, the one you're going to see in a lot of ukulele books,
the classic, looks like this. _ _
_ _ _ What are the disadvantages [G] to this one?
The disadvantage is it's not a very comfortable chord.
[E] _
_ The advantages is it kind of sits in that mid-range,
[D] and it is the same as this D chord, just [E] a slide up.
[G] So some tips on learning this [D] one.
_ What you're going to do is [B]
it's the 4th fret of the G,
4th fret [E] of the C, 4th fret of _ _ _ the A,
and the [Bm] 2nd fret, [C#] I'm sorry, 4th fret of [Bm] the E,
and 2nd fret of the A.
_ [D] _ The easiest [D] way is once you get your D down,
and you're a master of a D chord,
to take [Em] that D and slide it up one, [E] two frets.
But keep that similar, and practice just these three notes.
And as you practice, you can go ahead and reach down
and get this on there.
I like to keep my elbow in towards my ribs,
because I find it is a little easier to play
if I keep my elbow into my ribs.
_ This is the go-to E shape, and it's difficult,
but in a lot of ways, it's going to be [C] your standard E shape.
_ _ We can also play an E like this.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [C]
Advantages.
You have an open [E] E string,
I give it a drone, _ and make it feel more like a bass. _
On a guitar, [G] the E chord is the lowest chord,
and this is not the lowest chord.
_ [G]
So if you're playing in the key of E,
and you want a nice [Em] low sound, I would recommend this shape.
[B] What are we doing?
First finger, first [G#] fret of the G [C] string.
Pinky finger, fourth fret of the C string.
[A#] This is going to be where it's going to get difficult for you guys.
[E] This is why a lot of people shy _ away from this chord,
but I would recommend having it in the bag,
as with all these E shapes, they're important to have. _
Open E string, and your middle finger
on the second fret of the A string. _ _ _
This is _ what I play when I want my E
to be as low as possible, or when I want that open drone string.
_ _ [Am] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ Alright, we also have an E right here. _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ This is when I want my E to sound high.
It's the same four [E] strings that you did on the first shape,
but we're just [C#m] going to bar the entire fourth fret,
and [G#] we're going to take our ring finger [E] here on the seventh fret _
_ of the A string.
This is an E note. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Now, I don't think this sounds very good, for example, [A] to go from A.
I [E] _
_ _ [A] think it's a pretty big jump, but if you're playing something like a reggae,
_ _ _ [E] _ _ I think it definitely sounds the best.
Alright?
_ [A] _
_ _ _ [E] _ So I would use this bar chord
[G#] in reggae situations, [G] funk situations, bar chord situations.
_ Alright, another option you have is way up [E] here, _ _ _
_ _ and this would be based [A] on this A shape up here,
and I'm barring [Em] the seventh fret,
_ [N] _ _ _ middle finger on the eighth fret of the C shape.
I'm going to use this E note on the fourth fret of the G shape.
I'm going to use my ring finger on the [E] ninth fret of the G shape. _ _
_ _ _ _ I don't use this one very often because on a ukulele,
you run out of space and it gets pretty thin. _
It has very little sustain, but if I'm playing rhythm with two ukuleles
and someone's playing an E chord up there,
I might _ add _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ a little [C#] flavor with some stabs.
_ _ So I'm going to use this [F#] E when I want to add E stabs.
_ _ [C#] Alright, another option you have is [E] this one,
and that is laying your finger flat across the fourth fret,
back to where we started [N] the first one,
and then [A] muting this [E] A string.
_ _ _ And you would use this E [A] in just a regular context.
_ _ To illustrate that example, I'm going to do an A,
[Am] _ [D] C, _ _ [E] _ _ [A] A, _ _
A, _ [D] C. _ _ _
_ [A] _ _ Alright, but [Dm] be careful not to press them all down because if you get that in there,
_ [F]
then you're actually going to be playing a [N] D minor 7.
We don't want a D minor [F] 7, we want an E major.
Alright?
_ _ So there are a couple different shapes for your E chord,
how I use them, when I use them, and why I use them.
So enjoy those E shapes,
and hopefully you get this chord, [A#] and hopefully you find one that you're comfortable with,
and hopefully [B] eventually you get them all.
Hey, [G] 10thumbspro.com, check us out, thumbs up if it helped [E] you,
and until next time, [C]
ciao ciao!
_ _ [N] Alright, that was the E chord!
E is for excellent, and now you got it under your fingers.
So what I want you to do is keep on practicing, keep on playing it,
if it's still difficult for you, make it a point just to practice the E chord.
Make it a point just to play it when you can,
_ _ and I think that a little bit, 5 minutes a day, messing with that,
you'll get it in about a week or so.
It's different for everybody, but keep sticking with it because it's a really important chord.
_ 10thumbspro.com, check out patreon.com slash 10thumbspro.
That's our digital tip jar, for as little as $1 a month,
as little as $1 a month, you can help us grow.
And what are we doing with that money?
We're putting it into 10thumbs,
_ you're helping us, we're helping spread music around the world,
ukulele's a great thing, and we appreciate your help,
helping us to spread the love, peace, and happiness that is ukulele around the world.
Alright, 10thumbspro.com, a big hug, thumbs up if it helped you, take care. _