E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (2024)

Dramatic title aside, E major is notorious for being a difficult ukulele chord. Its inside-out shape is the first major finger-twister that most beginning players run across.

In this guide I’m going to discuss some suggestions and alternatives for playing this tricky shape.

I did a Q&A a while back that answered a question about if there is an easier way to play E major

The Traditional E Major Shape

E Major, as seen in most ukulele chord books, is held as 4442 with your index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom string and your ring finger barring the top three strings on the 4th fret:

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (1)

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In order to play this shape with this fingering, you have to be able to bend your knuckle backwards like this: E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (2)

If you can’t bend your ring finger into this shape off of the ukulele (or it’s painful), as shown in the picture, you probably shouldn’t try to play E this way.

But that’s ok! Skip to the alternative fingerings or shapes sections.

If you are able to bend your finger backwards like this, but your E chord is still buzzing or thumping, you need to do some optimization.

Pay attention to where your finger is at inside the fret space. It’s easier to get a clean sound with less pressure if your finger is on the higher side of the fret, towards the bridge of the ukulele.

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (3)

Since you’re placing your finger across many strings at once, it’s easy to get sideways and have certain strings pressed less precisely than others.

An alternative way to play this same shape is with a double barre fingering, placing your index finger across the entire second fret in addition to the ring finger. The index doesn’t need to press on the top three strings, only at the base of the finger on the A-string. This allows your hand position to be more natural.

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (4)

One last tip.

When you barre, in addition to keeping the finger on the high side of the fret, be mindful of where the creases in your knuckles land on the strings. If you try and hold a barre and one of the strings is disappearing into a finger crease, you won’t be able to apply adequate pressure in that spot.

You can adjust your finger vertically, up or down towards the ceiling, to align it with the strings in an optimal place.

Alternative Fingerings

While the partial barre is usually touted as the standard way to play E major on ukulele, it’s not the only way to finger the chord.

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (5)

You can try replacing the barre with one finger per string. Usually your index finger will remain on the bottom string and your middle finger will jump up to the top string with the ring and pinky landing on the C- and E-strings, respectively.

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An alternative is to do a two-string partial barre with your middle finger and use your ring finger to clean up the edge on the E-string.

Alternative Shapes

When you play a chord, the sound is usually defined by the “melody” note in the shape – the highest sounding note (or the last played a note on the way down if you have a high-g ukulele). This is the easiest note for the human ear to hear, and in the normal E shape, the “melody” is the B on the second fret, A-string.

Depending on your ear and tastes, the melodies highlighted by certain chord voicings are going to tend to sound better than others to you.

As a performing ukulele player in a rock band, I end up playing in the key of E more often than most folks. However, because I don’t like the sound of the B melody on top of the other notes, I hardly ever use 4442.

My band playing “Olinda Road” in the key of E. I don’t think I hit a single 4442 E in the whole song!

To me, alternative E major shapes are a better-sounding option in 99% of situations. Almost all of them are easier to play too!

Here are the two I use a lot:

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444X

This is probably the shape I use most. 444X is a barre on the top three strings, mute the bottom string by lifting the base of your finger so it makes poor contact with the A-string. Or bring an extra finger on your left hand up to lightly touch the bottom string.

The G# note as the melody makes for a more mellow sound. With a low G string, this shape lands in a lower register, which is nice for making the ukulele sound big and full.

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (8)

4402

This shape is very similar to the traditional E major shape, but it’s actually a power chord. It highlights the 1 and 5 tones in the chord formula so it sounds very pure.

Even though it’s not an actual E major chord, the sound is close enough in most situations that you can use this easier fingering when you want to highlight the B note melody.

Finally, you can try the shape that is often sold as the easiest cure-all for the normal E major: 4447.

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This is basically the same shape as a open C chord, you’re just moving everything up the same amount by four frets.

It’s fingered the same way as the three-string barre shown above, you just add your pinky on the A-string.

Conclusion

Ukulele, while being a very approachable instrument, is plagued by some bad advice and insistence on certain ways.

Experiment. If something works for you without causing pain, it’s fine. Use it.

If you can play E the traditional way and like the way it sounds, great. If not, explore some of the alternatives presented here. Hopefully one of them can ease your frustration.

Should you want to explore more chord shapes and chord families, I encourage you to check out my reference book, Ukulele Chord Shapes.

ʻUkulele Chord Shapes

PDF Ebook

A neo-traditional chord reference book. Learn to create 2,268 chords out of 189 moveable shapes and learn the theory behind the magic.

Learn more$19

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele (2024)

FAQs

E Chord Guide: Alternative Ways to Play it on Ukulele? ›

To play an E major chord on ukulele the easiest way, use this alternative E chord as a substitution, known as an E5, where you place the index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string, middle finger on the 4th fret of the top g-string, ring finger on the 4th fret of the C-string, and let the E-string ring open.

Can you play E7 instead of E on ukulele? ›

If you're already familiar with the E major chord, you'll notice that the E7 chord is almost exactly the same, but with one added note. The E major chord is composed of the root note, major third, and perfect fifth of the E major scale. The E7 chord contains those same three notes, plus the seventh of the scale.

What is the E shortcut on the ukulele? ›

To play the E major chord on ukulele in this third and most popular variation, perform a barre by pressing your index finger on all four strings on the 2nd fret and perform a barre by pressing your ring finger on the top g-string, C-string, and E-string on the 4th fret.

How do you change ukulele chords quickly? ›

60 seconds is all it takes
  1. Set a timer to 60 seconds.
  2. Fret the first chord with your fretting hand (left hand if you're right-handed)
  3. Play a single down strum.
  4. Switch to the chord that is causing you problems.
  5. Play a single down strum.
  6. Switch back to your initial chord and repeat this process.
Nov 16, 2020

What is the difference between E7 and E chord? ›

What Notes Make Up an E7? A standard E chord is made up of the notes E, G#, and B. An E7 adds one note to the original triad; it's comprised of E, G#, B, and D.

Which string is E on ukulele? ›

So for the standard ukulele tuning of G-C-E-A, string four is tuned to G, string three is the C, string two is the E and string one is the A. This leads well into a longer discussion of string notes and tunning. What Are the Ukulele String Notes?

What chord can replace E on ukulele? ›

But overall, if you're looking for an easy way to play an E chord on ukulele, then using E5 as a substitution is your best option!

How do you play an E chord on A baritone ukulele? ›

To play the E Major baritone chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top D-string and index finger on the 1st fret of the G-string. Let the other strings ring open.

What chord can I use instead of em? ›

So you can substitute an Em chord for a G major chord, or vice versa, for a smooth but noticeable change in the sound of the progression—and usually you can sing the same melody over either chord.

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