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Core Chords
From four F7 chord voicings or shapes, your can build your massive 4-part, a.k.a., “jazz” chord vocabulary.
click on any one of the individual F7 chords above to start the lesson for that particular voicing or shape.
Beyond basic open position chords, basic movable form chords and a core set of 4-part chords. There are just too many chords shapes too memorize. Learning the principles of how chords are constructed and the ukulele fingerboard are the way to go. Then you can create more advanced chords like 9#11, 7#5-9, 13b5, 7+9 on the fly as needed.
Seventh chords are the chords that have the most possible variations. 9th, 11th, 13th, b5, #5, b9, #9. And, combinations of the same.
Core Chords is a series of UkuleleLessons for building your core 4-part, aka “jazz” chords. These chords commonly called “jazz” chords, are really just 4-part chords that are used in a wide range of musical styles.
These lessons present a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer. Even chord theory does not offer any insight into unraveling the complexity of Ukulele chord voicings.
Building Your Core Chord Foundation
Sometimes called a “dominant 7th” chord, the 7th chord provides a great foundation for building your core chords.
From the following four 7th chords you can build set of chords which include: Seventh 7, Major Seventh maj7, Minor Seventh m7, Half Diminished Seventh or Minor Seven Flat Five ø7 (m7b5), Diminished Seventh °7 and Augmented Seventh +7. These six chords form a core set of chords.

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Core Chords
Download a FREE Printable PDF lesson file
Each lesson file is a high resolution, formated lesson that prints out great.
Handy chart for building the six core core chords.
FILE: UL42_SixCoreChords.pdf
FILE SIZE: 311.26 K
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Video Example Using Two of the Four 7th Chord Voicings (Shapes)
click on any chord for larger view
Recommended and Alternate Chord Fingerings
Fingerings are not shown. Any fingering would only be a recommended fingering and not mandatory. For many chords there are alternate fingerings, with any particular fingering dependent how the chord is being used in relationship to its previous chord and the next chord.
A guide to reading a `ukulele chord diagram is available right here on my site.
Video Example Using ALL Four 7th Chord Voicings (Shapes)
This video using each of the four seventh chord voicings or shapes, transposed to Bb7 and C7
From four F7 chord voicings or shapes, your can build your massive 4-part, a.k.a., “jazz” chord vocabulary.
click on any one of the individual F7 chords above to start the lesson for that particular voicing or shape.
Core Chords - The Big Six - Building a Solid Chord Foundation
Lessons directly related to Core Chords - The Big Six - Building a Solid Chord Foundation.
| Related Lesson Title | |
| Naming Chords on Ukulele A Chord can have alternate names based on how it is being used. A chord's function is an important determining factor in naming a chord. | |
| Transposing Ukulele Chords Transposition is the process of moving note, chord, scale or any musical passage from one key to another key. All music can be transposed, from a single note to a complex musical score. This lesson deals with transposing chords. | |
| Building a Solid Jazz Chord Foundation for Ukulele Commonly called jazz chords, these more sophisticated, contemporary chord voicings find their way into a wide variety of music forms and styles. This lessons is the first on the series that build your core foundation for these chords. | |
| Dominant Seventh Chords? Not all seventh chords are actually "dominant" seventh chords. This lesson covers when is a Dominant Seventh Chord NOT really a Dominant seventh? | |
| Chord Substitution on Ukulele A chord substitution is when one chord replaces another chord or is used in addition to a current chord. This lesson covers some of the underlining principles that are used to substitute one chords or a series of chords for another. | |
| Understanding a Ukulele Chord Diagram There're a lot different ways to show chord shapes, diagrams and images on a fretted instrument. This is the basic chord diagram I use in all my lessons and book. | |
| Types of Ukulele Chords Open position chords, movable form chords, 4-part, a.k.a. jazz chords and free from chords. The types of chords possible on ukulele | |
| Core Chords - Creating the Big Six from F7, 1st Voicing Taking a movable F7 chord, you can derive each of the 'big six' essential chords. 7, maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, and aug7. | |
| Core Chords - Creating the Big Six from F7, 2nd Voicing Taking a movable F7 chord, you can derive each of the 'big six' essential chords. 7, maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, and aug7. | |
| Core Chords - Creating the Big Six from F7, 3rd Voicing Taking a movable F7 chord, you can derive each of the 'big six' essential chords. 7, maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, and aug7. | |
| Core Chords - Creating the Big Six from F7, 4th Voicing Taking a movable F7 chord, you can derive each of the 'big six' essential chords. 7, maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, and aug7. |
Core Chords - The Big Six - Building a Solid Chord Foundation
Books directly related to Core Chords - The Big Six - Building a Solid Chord Foundation.
| Related Book Title | |
A highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. | |
Exploring jazz chords using a variety of common chord progressions based on songs from the standard jazz repertoire. | |
Commonly referred to as jazz chords, this book provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords. Covers common string families. | |
Commonly referred to as jazz chords, this book provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords. Cover string families not in volume 1. |
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UL42_CORE_CHORDS_THE_BIG_SIX.PHP | Updated: Thursday, 18th April, 2013 @ 06:55pm















