CONQUEST of the B flat Chord!!! . . . . You no longer need to fear that Bb chord. . . . At last!!! (This applies to the F chord for the Baritone Uke as well)

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How often have you found yourself playing a song in the key of F and that Bb chord pops up and all of a sudden your playing comes to a crashing halt as you contort your hand to achieve a good, clean, clear sound that’s even remotely reconizable as a real chord???  I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve dealt with this issue with my students.  It just seems to be one of those annoying chords but still a very very important chord to know.  The Key of F maj is a particular good key for Ukulele.  It is one of the most often keys used for playing instrumentals and solos.  So, at some time we really do need to conquer that irritating Bb chord ha ha ha. . . So, here are some tips that might help

Below you will see two images of a Bb chord . . . the one on the Left shows improper finger and wrist position. . . The one on the Right shows a proper position of the fingers and wrist.

Bb Chord: IMPROPER hand and finger position

In the PROPER position the thumb should be on the back of the neck for support and added strength for the partial “BARRE” chord.  By partial I mean the index finger is pressing down only 2 strings at the first fret.  That finger should lie flat as possible.  By dropping the wrist, it will alow the other two fingers to properly ARCH over the indext finger notes so as not to touch adjacent strings which is one of the main sticking points on getting a good, clean sound.  If the Bb chord still continues to be a pesky chord then another option is to play the Gm7 chord.  As you see in the chord diagram below that they are the same with only one difference.  You simply release the third finger from the 4th string to convert the Bb into a Gm7.  If you play only the first 3 strings then you essentially play a Bb chord.  Until you get a stronger barring finger and most independence in your fingers, use this Gm7 chord in place of the Bb.  Sure hope this helps some.  It’s an important chord so that’s why I’ve spent a whole blog on this issue.

Bb Chord: PROPER hand and finger position

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