Ukulele · major
E Chord on Ukulele
E Major is E, G#, B — the 1-3-5 pattern of a major chord. There are 5 ways to play it on ukulele, ranked below from easiest to hardest.
Good news: E has an open shape on ukulele, so you can play it without barring anything. Start there and work up the neck later.
The shape most players use — Standard Barre
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
Easier ways to play it — 5 shapes, easiest first
Same chord in all of them. What changes is how much your hand has to do and where on the neck it sits.
Alternative Way 1 of 5
Alternative
Easiest here· intermediate
Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
Standard Barre Way 2 of 5
Standard Barre
intermediate· the standard shape
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
A Shape (movable) (7th fret) Way 3 of 5
A Shape (movable) (7th fret)
intermediate
Sits at fret 7 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
G Shape (movable) (9th fret) Way 4 of 5
G Shape (movable) (9th fret)
intermediate
Sits at fret 9 — tighter and brighter than the low shapes, and high enough to keep out of the way of anyone playing the open version underneath.
High Position Way 5 of 5
High Position
advanced
Barre at fret 4 — harder to hold than an open shape, but movable: slide it and you have every other major chord.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
Songs that turn on this chord
- Sweet Home AlabamaLynyrd Skynyrdverse — third chord
- Folsom Prison BluesJohnny Cashverse — opening chord
- Twist and ShoutThe Beatlesverse
- Way MakerSinachverse — tonic
E on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on ukulele.
E on Ukulele — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play E on ukulele?
“Alternative” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest E shape on ukulele. Open shape — open strings ring right through it and there is nothing to barre. If you only learn one, learn this one.
What notes are in the E Major chord?
E Major is E, G#, B — the 1-3-5 interval pattern of a major chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
How many ways can you play E on ukulele?
This page has 5 E voicings for ukulele, ranked from easiest to hardest: Alternative, Standard Barre, A Shape (movable) (7th fret), G Shape (movable) (9th fret), High Position. They all sound like E; the differences are how hard they are to hold and how high they sit.
What can I play instead of E?
The nearest stand-ins on ukulele that keep the same root are E5, Esus4, Esus2. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play E on other instruments?
Yes. E is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, bass, mandolin, banjo.
Learn the theory behind E
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Chord Progressions Explained
Major triads are the building blocks. This is how they get strung into songs.
7 min read
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs
Where the three notes come from, and why the stack sounds bright.
5 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two Seconds
Every key this chord sits in, and the signature that gives it away.
6 min read