The other Strings:
We have found the shape for the first(E) and third(C) strings so lets look at the other notes in the Major chord.Here is the whole chord and its 4 shapes.
We can see the C, C# we have already looked at. We can also see the three new shapes. These are grouped on adjacent sequences of notes. Specifically:
- A, A#, B using roots on first(A) and fourth(G) strings, (remember the strings number from the right),
- D, D#, E using roots on the third(C) string,
- F, F#, G, G# which uses the second string(E) as its root.
You can also clearly see the progression down(up) the neck of each shape. (Yes, you can just keep going down the fretboard just like the C on previous page. But we need this many shapes to play right up against the Nut).
We'll deal with those extra dashed circles on the D# and E soon (common alternates).
Likewise the cases where the gray dots don't lie on the shapes like E,G (easy to play variations).
There are several things to note here.
- We only need 4 different shapes to play all 12 notes in the octave.
- every chord has different shapes.
- Moving a shape down one fret plays the next note in the octave.
- The shapes do not extend up above the Nut.
- They won't work if they extended higher as its impossible to play that string.
- The marked Root nodes correspond to the note that is being played.
- The Root nodes can appear on one or two strings.
- one of the reasons why the GCEA strings were chosen for the Ukulele.
- a Guitar might have three roots in a shape (but it has 6 strings).
Variants
The gray dots (preferred finger locations) don't always lie under the line shapes. I have done this intentionally for two reasons:- Many people use simplified versions of the chords for easier fingering. The only problem with this is that the shape cannot be used down(up) the neck. Whereas the shaped lines can be used anywhere the root note is found on that string.
- An example of this is the E Major above. The simplified fingering is frequently used because its easier to get your hand around than the more complex shape.
- Many tab books will show these simpler shapes.
- See later about the many ways to play a chord vs repeatable patterns.
- Looking at the G above you can see the fourth string(G) is open in the gray dot version whereas the pattern suggests you use fret 4 to get a B.
- The intervals at the bottom show you this results in a chord comprised of a Root, 5th, Root, 3rd tones. Looking on an adjacent pattern, you can see it would give you 3rd,5th,Root,3rd. (The shapes always use the same intervals. More on this soon.)
- These are both G Major chords but sound a little different. Many people will not want the repeated Root sound which might overwhelm the 3rd and 5th tones, while others will find the Double Root tone more pleasing.
- They are both G Major Chords so its up to you which one you'd like to play. By adding the interval information below the Tab you, the player, can choose.
- Because the G string is an open string, the simpler shape cannot be used further down the neck.
Alternates
The dotted circles represent another non-shape variant. For some notes there is more than one common shape. Later (using the Chord Explorer in the Inkscape extension) we will show how to find ALL the possible ways to play a note in a chord. Some of these have very compact fingering but some are impossible to manage with one hand.On the previous page I showed the D fingering differently from how it appears here. This shape is one fret higher than using the C shape moved down two frets. This is why we don't use just one shape for all notes - so we can get many different soundings of the same chord for more interesting intonation. Now you know at least two ways to play the D Major chord. You can easily switch between them.
Lets look next at how the notes play down the neck. (Chord Maps)
