Am ukulele chord

Darker and more melancholy than major. A single semitone — the flattened third — makes the whole difference.

A minor · standard GCEA tuning · 3 shapes

How to Play Am on Ukulele

The easiest shape is 2000: G string 2nd fret · C string open · E string open · A string open.

Am ukulele chord, Open position

Open position

2 0 0 0

Am ukulele chord, Up the neck, fret 44

Up the neck, fret 4

5 4 5 0

Am ukulele chord, Up the neck, fret 88

Up the neck, fret 8

9 9 8 0

Strings left to right are G, C, E and A, as the ukulele faces you. Numbers are frets; 0 means play the string open. Every shape is worked out from the notes the chord must contain and checked against them before it is published.

Notes in Am

A
root
C
♭3rd
E
5th

A ukulele has four strings, so a 3-note chord doubles one of its notes on the spare string. Because the G string is tuned high (reentrant tuning), the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not the G.

Songs and Keys That Use Am

Am belongs to 3 major keys: C major (as the vi chord), F major (as the iii chord) and G major (as the ii chord).

  • vi – IV – I – V — the pop-punk staple
  • I – V – vi – IV — the most common progression in pop
  • I – iii – IV – V — a bright, lifting movement

Am on Other Instruments

  • Guitar: see the Am guitar chord — six strings, so the shapes are different, but the notes are the same.
  • Baritone ukulele (DGBE): 2210. A baritone is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar, so guitar shapes carry over and standard-ukulele shapes do not. Tune one with the baritone ukulele tuner.

Tune first

A right shape on an out-of-tune ukulele still sounds wrong. Check G, C, E and A in a few seconds.

Open the Ukulele Tuner →