Here we are, ukulele chords G7 and its various positions. It’s rather common on either the ukulele or the guitar for an aspiring beginner to be playing merrily their C’s and A’s and D’s and E’s, and then suddenly to be jolted when first encountering those in between chords: those Bb’s and Eb’s and Db’s. It can be confusing, difficult to decipher, and thus no fun at all. Aren’t flats and sharps basically the same thing anyhow? What gives?!
This can often end up with a prospective guitarist or ukulelist dropping their new hobby for good, though dropping out at this point is disastrous, for once you have mastered this new shape, you are off to greener pastures, where unknowing is lifted and so much is left open for your discovery and experimentation.
The shape that we use to play G7 is considered foundational because it is so vital in understanding other chords, like A minor ukulele chord, G7, Gmaj7, or Gmin7, Gm ukulele chord and a panoply of other similar chords.
It may seem daunting at first because it requires slightly more of us than those initial open chords which we are spoon fed, but to let such a silly foe best you at this stage would be foolish, when you are clearly made of so much more than that.
Ukulele Chords G7 in the 1st Position
To play the ukulele chords G7, the main way to do so is in a manner identical to the way that a D7 chord is played on a guitar, with the fretting hand forming an arrow that points towards the headstock:
First, you will want to place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the lowest string in terms of altitude, the A string, sounding out the requisite B mediant 3rd.
Then you will use your index finger, placing it on the 1nd fret of the string just above the A string, the E string, sounding out the integral leading tone of the G7 tetrad, F.
Finally, you will use your middle finger to press down on the 2nd fret of the second highest string in terms of altitude, that being the C string, sounding out the requisite dominant 5th of the G7 tetrad, D.
You will notice that the highest string in terms of altitude, the G string up top, is unadorned by any of your fingers, and for good reason! for this G is the underlying tonic of the G7 tetrad, and thus does not need any modifying or extending, diminishing or augmenting, whatsoever.
Final Tones
Ah, there you are, almost thought I had lost you along the way! Hopefully you are somewhat the wiser about what exactly ukulele chords G7 are all about, and are also feeling confident to encounter them out in the wild. Don’t feel you have to push yourself out there straight away, but it would no doubt do wonders for your ukulele skills overall to be out there experimenting with other musicians and drafting your technique at a collective drawing board like so.
FAQs Ukulele Chords G7
First, in order to define what G7 chords are, we must first understand what a 7th chord is in the first place. Where a typical triad is composed of the tonic, the mediant, and the dominant scale degrees of the given root note, a tetrad extends this triad by a fourth degree. In the case of 7th chords, this extension includes the 7th degree of the scale, the leading tone, giving it a characteristically tense mood. This extension could just as easily have been a major 7th, with this leading tone augmented so that it is in fact the note right before the scale loops back round on itself and becomes the octave. Thus, a G7 chord is simply a G major triad extended with its corresponding leading tone: tonic (G), mediant (B), dominant (D) & leading tone (F).
