Ukulele Keys
Every key laid out on the circle of fifths, with the chords that belong to it, the progressions that work in it and the songs on UkuTabs written in it. Start with the key you are in, or pick one of the six the ukulele makes easy.
All 24 keys, easiest first
Ranked by a playability score we measure rather than guess: every chord in the key is scored on how many strings it frets, whether it needs a real barre and how far up the neck it sits, then weighted so the chords you lean on all night count for more than the ones you touch once a song. Lower is friendlier.
| Key | Chords in it | Relative | Ease | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Major | C Dm Em F G Am Bdim | A Minor | 27 | — |
| F Major | F Gm Am Bb C Dm Edim | D Minor | 31 | — |
| A Minor | Am Bdim C Dm Em F G | C Major | 33 | — |
| D Minor | Dm Edim F Gm Am Bb C | F Major | 34 | — |
| G Major | G Am Bm C D Em F#dim | E Minor | 38 | — |
| B♭ Major | Bb Cm Dm Eb F Gm Adim | G Minor | 39 | — |
| G Minor | Gm Adim Bb Cm Dm Eb F | B♭ Major | 43 | — |
| A Major | A Bm C#m D E F#m G#dim | F♯ Minor | 45 | — |
| D Major | D Em F#m G A Bm C#dim | B Minor | 47 | — |
| E Major | E F#m G#m A B C#m D#dim | C♯ Minor | 49 | — |
| C Minor | Cm Ddim Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb | E♭ Major | 49 | — |
| E Minor | Em F#dim G Am Bm C D | G Major | 50 | — |
| E♭ Major | Eb Fm Gm Ab Bb Cm Ddim | C Minor | 51 | — |
| C♯ Minor | C#m D#dim E F#m G#m A B | E Major | 53 | — |
| B Major | B C#m D#m E F# G#m A#dim | G♯ Minor | 57 | — |
| B Minor | Bm C#dim D Em F#m G A | D Major | 59 | — |
| F♯ Minor | F#m G#dim A Bm C#m D E | A Major | 59 | — |
| G♯ Minor | G#m A#dim B C#m D#m E F# | B Major | 61 | — |
| A♭ Major | Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb Fm Gdim | F Minor | 67 | — |
| F Minor | Fm Gdim Ab Bbm Cm Db Eb | A♭ Major | 70 | — |
| G♭ Major | Gb Abm Bbm B Db Ebm Fdim | E♭ Minor | 71 | — |
| B♭ Minor | Bbm Cdim Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab | D♭ Major | 72 | — |
| E♭ Minor | Ebm Fdim Gb Abm Bbm B Db | G♭ Major | 74 | — |
| D♭ Major | Db Ebm Fm Gb Ab Bbm Cdim | B♭ Minor | 75 | — |
How to use this
If you know what key your song is in, open it and you get the seven chords that belong there, the progressions that work, the chords worth borrowing and every song on UkuTabs we have found in that key.
If you do not know the key, look at the last chord of the chart. Songs nearly always end on their home chord, so a song that finishes on F is almost certainly in F major. Check the other chords against the key page to confirm it.
If the key is a hard one, every key page works out the best capo position and tells you which easy key to play the shapes for instead. That is usually the difference between a song you can play tonight and one you cannot.
Frequently asked questions
What is a musical key?
A key is the family of notes and chords a song is built around, named after its home chord. A song in C major keeps coming back to C, and almost all of its chords are drawn from the seven that belong to C major. Knowing the key tells you which chords are likely to come next and which ones will sound wrong.
Which keys are easiest on ukulele?
C major, F major, G major and B flat major, plus A minor and D minor. These are not opinions: we score every key by the actual shapes its chords need, counting fretted strings, real barres and anything above the third fret, then weight the chords you play most. C major comes out easiest because five of its seven chords need two fingers or fewer.
How do I work out what key a song is in?
Look at the last chord. Songs almost always end on their home chord, so a chart that finishes on G is very likely in G major. Then check that the other chords belong to that key. If a song uses G, C, D and Em it is in G major. If it ends on Em instead, it is in E minor, which uses the same chords with a different home.
What is the circle of fifths for?
It arranges the twelve keys so the most closely related ones sit next to each other. Each step clockwise adds one sharp, each step anticlockwise adds one flat, and neighbouring keys differ by a single note. That makes it a map: it shows you which key to move to for a key change, which chords to borrow and which relative minor pairs with each major.
What do I do if a song is in a hard key?
Put a capo on. A capo raises everything, so if a song is in E flat major you can clamp the third fret and play the shapes for C major instead. Every key page here works out the best capo position for you and tells you which easy key to play in.
Next stop: look up any shape on the chord diagrams, work out a chord you already know the shape of with the chord namer, run the scale up the neck on scales, or get in tune first with the tuner.