Top/Bottom, Up/Down?

Before I explain more about the Dominant 7th and other important chords, it's important for everyone to be on the same page and to use the same terminology, especially for those who like to read online without a personal teacher. And even then, some teachers don't know how to explain things well in the first place, they're just "Do what I do" and can't go beyond that.

What follows assumes that you are a right-handed individual.

Look at the ukulele face on, vertically, like in the image above. The notes of the open strings, from left to right, is G, C, E, A. What that means is when you pluck the string all the way on the right, without pressing anything down, the note you hear (when the ukulele is properly tuned) is A. The A string is also known as the "TOP" string and also the "FIRST" string. This messes up a lot of people. The E string is the 2nd string, the C string is the third and the G string (regardless if you have a low or high G string) is the fourth, or BOTTOM string.

Put your left index finger (this is your FIRST finger) on the 1st fret of the first string. Recognize that chord? If you strum all the strings while holding that down it is a C7 chord. Now, move UP 2 frets. Your first finger should now be in the THIRD fret of the same string and you should recognize that as the C major chord when you strum all the strings together.

Notice that the SOUND of the note you played at the third fret is HIGHER than the sound of the note you played at the first fret. That's how you remember that you went UP and not DOWN.

Play a Bb chord. Your first finger is holding down the 1st and 2nd strings, right? Now move UP 2 frets so that the same finger is holding down the same strings but at the third fret. You are now playing a C major chord. You can play this interchangeably with the one-finger version but the main difference is that now you can move this chord shape around to get other chords, more on this later.

Up/down/top/bottom may seem knit-picky but these are VERY important things to know that will help communicating with and learning from others. See my videos for other mini-lessons and let me know what you think or if you have any questions.