Ukulele Chords: How to Work Out the Chords to Any Song

By: Al Wood

There are many places on the net where you can find the ukulele
to chords for songs. But eventually you'll want to play a songs
and not be able to find the chords for it. In those situations,
it's a huge advantage to be able learn songs by ear. This
article will give you a step by step guide to achieving this.

Step 1: Listen

This might be pointing out the obvious, but you have to listen
to the song before you try to work it out and before you even
pick up your ukulele. Try to pick out the structure of the song,
when the chords change, when sections are repeated. See if you
can relate the song to one you know already. Many songs are
structured in a very similar way. If you can relate it to a song
you know already, you're off to a head start.

Step 2: Listen to the Other Instruments

The ukulele isn't the easiest instrument to work out. If the
song you are trying to work out has a guitar or bass part,
listen to those. The first thing you want to work out is the
root note of each chord (for example the root note of Cm7 is C).
With the ukulele, it's not always clear which note is the bass
note. If there's a bass guitar on the song, try to follow that
on the ukulele.

Step 3: Fleshing Out The Chords

Once you have the root notes of the chords, you can build them
into full chords. The first thing to judge is whether the chord
is major or minor. The difference between major and minor chords
is fairly clear and you're probably already familiar with the
different sounds.

At this stage, knowing some chord theory is useful. Learning the
harmonized major scale will mean you can quickly assess whether
a chord is likely to be major, minor, seventh etc.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Once you have the over all chord structure figured out and you
know whether the chords are major or minor, you can start to
work out any extra little notes in the chord. The most common
variation is a seventh chord.

The best way to pick up on these chord variations is to listen
to the melody. It's often easier to work out single notes than
it is full chords. If you can figure out how to play the melody,
all the better. Melody notes are often picked up on in the
chords. So if you can find these notes, they will help you find
those subtle chord variations.

Improving your ear is a great way for any musician to improve.
As well as helping your work out songs, it will improve your
improvisation and song-writing. Although it takes some time to
develop this skill, the rewards of doing so are very large.