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.
Open position
2 0 0 0
Up the neck, fret 4
5 4 5 0
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 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.
Related Ukulele Chords
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 →