Teresa Mae
How To Transition From Ukelele to Guitar
Many people start playing ukulele before guitar because they've heard it's easier. This is subjective for a variety of reasons, but that's not what this article is about. We will look at how to transition from playing ukulele to playing guitar and how to to make the switch as easy as possible.
I have to make a few assumptions. First is that you are playing ukulele and you tune it to G C E A. If this isn't the case then it gets more complicated.
The easiest approach is to capo the guitar at the 5th fret and play what you know on the four thinnest strings. They are the exact same tuning except for the 4th thickest string which is one octave lower. The fingerings are the same for all the chords you have previously learned on ukulele.
It wasn't necessary to use the capo, but this will make the exact same sounds in regards to pitch. It will also be closer to what a ukulele feels like as the frets are closer together at the 5th fret on the guitar.
From there you can try putting the capo on the 4th fret, then the 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and finally use no capo. When doing this you will use the same chord fingerings, but move them down with the capo.
The names of the chords will change and you will need to relearn them on guitar when playing "open"(without a capo. If you're playing a G on the ukulele it is the same as on guitar with the capo on the 5th fret. If you don't use a capo and play the same "G" shape on guitar, your fingers will be on frets 2 and 3. This chord is called "D" on guitar. This is the easiest to relearn as it's a 4 string chord.
Many other chords on guitar require 5 or 6 strings and you next need to learn the extended finger placements for the chords you know. A "C" chord on ukulele is a G on guitar with no capo. It is also a 6 string chord. You will place your index on fret 2 of the 5th string and middle finger on fret 3 of the 6th string, then your ring finger on fret 3 of the 1st string. Now you can strum all 6 strings on guitar and play a fuller sounding chord.
It's important to see the connection between the chord shapes because it will cut down the learning time as you won't have learn the chords from scratch.
About The Author: Ryan Duke is a professional musician, guitar teacher, and owner of Supertonic Guitar offering Guitar Lessons in Franklin, TN.