Movable shapes
Learn one fretted shape, then move it. The root’s fret names the chord — closed four-string grips you can slide, not a six-string barre system.
One shape, many frets
Open chords (C, Am, F, G) use open strings, and an open string cannot move — that is the whole reason those shapes are stuck where they are. Movable chords use only fretted notes, so the same grip works anywhere on the neck and the fret you put it on decides the chord's name. The classic gateway is Bb: a partial barre at fret 1, one fret up for B, two for C, and so on up the neck.
Slide it yourself
Three shapes cover most of what you need: a major, a minor and a dominant 7th. Pick one, move it up the neck, and hear what it becomes. The number beside the box is the fret the window opens at — put your index finger there.
Two things to notice. The shape never changes — only its position does, which is why one grip is worth more than ten open chords. And the higher you go the closer the frets get, so the same chord gets easier to hold and harder to hold cleanly.
Bb family map
| Root fret (index) | Major | Minor (Bm shape) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bb | Bbm |
| 2 | B | Bm |
| 3 | C | Cm |
| 5 | D | Dm |
| 7 | E | Em |
| 8 | F | Fm |
| 10 | G | Gm |
Details and drills: Barre & movable.
Every open chord is a movable chord
Any open shape becomes movable once the index finger replaces the nut. Open G is 0 2 3 2; put the index across fret 2, move the other fingers up two frets, and it is A (2 4 5 4). The chord takes its name from whatever the root moved to. Strings below are G C E A.
Majors — A (G-shape) 2 4 5 4 · D (C-shape) 2 2 2 5 · G (F-shape) 4 2 3 2.
A|-4-|-5-|-2-- E|-5-|-2-|-3-- C|-4-|-2-|-2-- G|-2-|-2-|-4--
Minors — Bm (Am-shape) 4 2 2 2 · Am (Gm-shape) 2 4 5 3 · Em (Dm-shape) 4 4 3 2.
A|-2-|-3-|-2-- E|-2-|-5-|-3-- C|-2-|-4-|-4-- G|-4-|-2-|-4--
Sevenths — B♭7 1 2 1 1 · A7 (G7-shape) 2 4 3 4. B♭7 is the slider's dominant grip; the G7 shape is the other one worth knowing.
A|-1-|-4-- E|-1-|-3-- C|-2-|-4-- G|-1-|-2--
One chord, four places
Movable shapes also give you the same chord in several places. D has an open grip and three closed ones, each a little higher and brighter. Pick the one nearest the chord before it — that is most of what “voice leading” means on a ukulele.
D (open) 2 2 2 0 · D (C-shape, fret 2) 2 2 2 5 · D (B♭ grip, fret 5) 7 6 5 5 · D (G-shape, fret 7) 7 9 10 9.
A|-0-|-5-|-5-|-9--- E|-2-|-2-|-5-|-10-- C|-2-|-2-|-6-|-9--- G|-2-|-2-|-7-|-7---
Park the hand: I–V–vi–IV in D
With movables the hand can stay put while the chords change. In D, all four chords of the most common pop progression fit between frets 2 and 5 with the index on fret 2 the whole time: D 2 2 2 5 · A 2 4 5 4 · Bm 4 2 2 2 · G 4 2 3 2.
A|-5--5-|-4--4-|-2--2-|-2--2-- E|-2--2-|-5--5-|-2--2-|-3--3-- C|-2--2-|-4--4-|-2--2-|-2--2-- G|-2--2-|-2--2-|-4--4-|-4--4--
Two strums per chord. The index barely moves — change the other fingers, not the hand. Then try the same four chords with open grips (D 2 2 2 0, A 2 1 0 0, Bm 4 2 2 2, G 0 2 3 2) and hear the difference.
Practice
- Clean Bb → slide to C (same shape, fret 3).
- Alternate open C with movable C — hear the voicing change.
- Play I–V–vi–IV in C using open shapes, then again with movables only.
Open chords · Scales · Hands
Ready when
Move on when all of these are true on a normal day, not your best one:
- You can turn open G, C, F, Am, Gm, Dm and G7 into movable shapes and name the chord at any fret.
- D in all four places, changing between them on the click without looking.
- D · A · Bm · G with the hand parked at fret 2, two strums per chord at 80 bpm.
Text twin: movable.md