In the very first ukulele class I give, I introduce the Zed Chord. Before we even start tuning our ukuleles and introducing ourselves, I get everyone to hold the ukulele and make the Z or Zed Chord. What is this famous chord?
This blog post can also be retitled “Z before A” or “Percussion before Pitch” or “Silence before Sound.” It’s the first of a new series of blog posts on “Ukulele Fundamentals.”
Pronunciation
In England, we say “zed” but in America it’s just “z” and it’s not the multiple zzzzz that symbolize falling asleep.
What is the “zed chord” that I believe is the first chord anyone should learn on the ukulele?
Silence before sound
Before learning to make any music, we need to know how to mute and hear the silence.
Muting the strings simply means stopping the strings. It does not mean pressing down hard. Just a gentle press will do.
The Zed chord is that chord.
Fingering the Z chord
To press all four strings of the ukulele, put one or two or three or four fingers across it.
This movement is also known as “barring” or to “barre” a chord. A chord that requires all four strings pressed in this manner is known as a “barre chord.”
The Z chord is different from other barre chords in that you must not press the strings so hard that when you strum the four strings you hear a pitch. It should be a dead sound — no pitch. Just a percussive sound when you strum all four strings.
This means a very light touch. Gently cover all four strings with your fingers.
Purpose of the Z chord
I teach the Z chord so that the ukulele player can learn the following:
- how to properly hold the neck of the ukulele
- relax the left hand – generally first-timers will press the strings too hard
- learn to use the right hand and fingers (also known as the strumming or fingerpicking hand and fingers) to play basic strokes
- acquaint oneself with the instrument before learning how to tune it
- learn percussive effects
Percussion and percussive
The ukulele gives many music making and sound producing possibilities. Before pitch, there’s percussion.
Watch and listen to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. You’ll see how the seven members use their instruments to produce sounds that are not just pitched but also percussive, with taps, Zed-chord down and up strokes, and much more.
What comes out of a Zed chord is a dead sound that has no tone or pitch.
Here’s a member of the orchestra who demonstrates the Z chord.
Right hand strokes and strums
Because there’s no need to tune your ukulele when you finger and play the Zed chord, you can now focus on the right hand and learn how to strum, count, keep time, play different rhythms, and express yourself musically through texture and dynamics.
I use letters to represent the kind of stroke or strum.
- d for down
- u for up
- – (hyphen – ) or air stroke – this means you still do the down or up but don’t touch the strings (hence no extra sound is made)
- capital letters represent accents
Du Du Du Du means the down stroke is louder than the upstroke
dU dU means the upstroke is louder than the down stroke
Texture
Using the nail of your right index finger to strike the strings in a downward motion (from G to A strings) produces a metallic sound.
Similarly, using the nail of your right thumb to “strum” the strings from the A-string to the G (coming up toward you) produces a metallic sound.
Using the nails of both fingers by rotating your wrist, you make the down up strokes: du du du du.
The other texture is the velvety softer sound of the flesh of the fingers.
Down strum with the flesh of your thumb. Up strum with the flesh of your index finger.
You can also combine metallic and flesh textures by down strum with the nail of your index finger and up strum with the flesh of the index finger.
The reverse can be done with your thumb: down strum with the flesh and up strum with the nail of your thumb.
Dynamics
Besides texture, another important element in music is dynamics. The word means volume.
To make a small sound, keep your fingers close to the strings, make small movements, use little exertion or force, and sometimes this means slower movements.
To make a loud sound, make bigger gestures. Use more force (than small sound production). Sometimes this means faster movements.
Repeat this strum pattern after counting 1, 2, 3, 4 (and continue to count)
- D- d- d- d-
The accent is on the 1.
By repeat, I mean play the above strum pattern many times.
1- 2- 3- 4- | D- d- d- d- | D- d- d- d- | D- d- d- d- | D- d- d- d- | D- d- d- d- |
Compare it with this strum pattern:
- D- d- D- d-
The accent is on the 1 and 3.
Now try these strum patterns after counting 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
- Du d- d- d-
- Du du du du
- Du d- Du d-
- du du D- du
How do you accent the down strokes (indicated by capital letter D) ?
Representation of the Z chord
So far, I have not seen the Z chord in a chord diagram. Have you?
Below the the first chords I teach in the first class, starting with the Z Chord.
More Z chord demonstrations
Ukulele Fundamentals
This blog post is the first in a series on the fundamentals or foundation of playing the ukulele.
Since my first book “UkuGlobal’s Happy Helpful Guide to the Ukulele” went out of print after the first two years, I have been revising and tweaking how I teach the ukulele.
In my new six-week (in-person) ukulele course, I will post blogs on the contents of the course. Eventually this material will form a new book for both students and teachers.
