Learn How to Play the Guitar & Ukulele with Chord Charts

Chords are the very foundation of music and we figure, while you’re at home during these weird times, it’s never a bad idea to increase your vocabulary by learning some new charts. We’re offering Ukulele and Guitar chord charts for you to learn and share with us! You can download them by clicking on the charts below…

For beginners, these charts probably seem confusing, a whole lot of random lines, dots, and numbers. No need to “fret” we’re here to help!

A guitar chord chart is an image of a fretboard if the guitar was standing vertically and you were looking at it straight on. The vertical lines represent the strings of the guitar. From left to right, the strings (in standard tuning) are low E (6th string), A (5th), D (4th), G (3rd), B (2nd) and high E (1st).

The horizontal lines represent the frets. The dots in the diagram mark where to place your fingers of your fretting hand, with numbers assigned to each finger. Your index finger is 1 and 2 is your middle finger, 3 is the ring finger, and 4 is for your pinky finger. If you ever see a “T” on a chord chard, that indicates to play the note with your thumb.

You might have also noticed Xs and Os on top of the chord chart. The “X” means that you mute the string or don’t play it, while “O” directs you to play that string open, with no fingering on that string.

Ukulele chord charts are similar to guitar, but with less strings (only 4). With your ukulele standing vertically and straight on, just like the guitar chord charts, the strings are illustrated as vertical lines (from left to right G C, E, A string) and the frets are the horizontal lines.

Similarly, each dot represents the placement of your finger. So, how should you place your fingers? You play the C string at the second fret, the E string at the third fret and the A string at the second fret. And the “O” directs you to play that string open, with no fingering on that string. Just like the example above.

Knowing how to properly read a chord chart is a key step in any player’s development. Share your jam sesh on your social channels by tagging Ernie Ball (@ernieball) and using the hashtag (#StayInAndPlay) and we’ll reshare your music on Ernie Ball’s Instagram. We’re all in this together and we encourage you to #StayInAndPlay. 

Ernie Ball Gear

Make sure you have the gear you need at home with you so you can #stayinandplay.

Ukulele strings

Ernie Ball ukulele strings are made from 100% nylon monofilament. Our ukulele strings are offered in traditional clear resin for a bright, balanced tone with excellent projection and black resin for a warm, rich tone with percussive attack. Ernie Ball ukulele strings feature ball end construction for easy installation and enhanced tuning stability. Gauges .028, .032, .040, .028

Ukulele Strap

The Ernie Ball ukulele strap is made from comfortable 1” wide black Polypropylene webbing machined stitched to quality black leather ends for excellent strength and longevity. Black injection molded plastic hook allows for tight fit connection to ukulele sound-hole, further enhancing comfort and reliability.

Electric Guitar strings

Ernie Ball offers over 200 choices of electric guitar strings, in a diverse selection of materials, string gauges, and styles. Our electric guitar strings come in a variety of high-quality materials including M-steel, cobalt, nickel, stainless steel, titanium, and bronze. Our guitar string sets are available for 6-string, 7-string, 8-string, 9-string, 10-string, and 12-string guitars.

Our electric guitar strings line includes the iconic Nickel Wound Slinkys, RPS, M-Steel, Stainless Steel, Cobalt, Pure Nickel, and Coated Titanium RPS.

Acoustic Guitar strings

Ernie Ball acoustic guitar strings offer musicians the power to handpick the sound of their music. Acoustic guitar strings influence the overall sound and tonality because there are no pickups or amplifiers to interfere. Just pure music.

Our acoustic guitar strings line includes Aluminum Bronze, Earthwood 80/20 Bronze, Paradigm 80/20 Bronze, Everlast Coated Phosphor Bronze, Paradigm Phosphor Bronze, Earthwood Phosphor Bronze and Everlast Coated 80/20 Bronze.