Chord stories

Four chord songs on ukulele

Learn four chords on ukulele and a great many songs open up: C, G, Am and F, the I–V–vi–IV of C major. The same loop in other keys and other orders runs under songs from the 1970s to now; the comedy band The Axis of Awesome made a medley of them.

C

Ukulele · Standard

0003: one finger

G

Ukulele · Standard

0232: a small triangle

Am

Ukulele · Standard

2000: one finger

F

Ukulele · Standard

2010: two fingers

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

homethe pullthe doorthe shadow

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The four chords

I | V | vi | IV

Key Chord chart The chords of C major ›

I–V–vi–IV: C, G, Am, F in C; G, D, Em, C in G. Choose any key.

Starting on the minor chord

vi | IV | I | V

Key Chord chart The chords of C major ›

vi–IV–I–V: Am, F, C, G, the wistful order.

Starting on IV

IV | I | V | vi

Key Chord chart The chords of C major ›

IV–I–V–vi: F, C, G, Am, the loop floats before it lands.

Starting on V

V | vi | IV | I

Key Chord chart The chords of C major ›

V–vi–IV–I: G, Am, F, C, the same loop entered from the far side.

Open them in the progression maker Another key with a capo

Learning the four shapes

C and Am each need one finger, and F needs two: start with those three. G is the hard one, three fingers in a small triangle; practise moving to it from C until the change takes no longer than a beat. Strum down on every beat, four to a bar, and change on the first beat of the bar.

The Axis of Awesome and the four chord song

The Australian comedy band The Axis of Awesome strung dozens of hits together over the same four chords in their medley “Four Chords”, first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008. They play it in D: D, A, Bm and G, which on ukulele are 2220, 2100, 4222 and 0232.

The same chords started on Am

Started on the minor chord, Am, F, C, G, the loop sounds more wistful. The writer Marc Hirsh named this order the “sensitive female chord progression” in the Boston Globe in 2008.

Songs that use these four chords

In this order, in another order, or in one part of the song: The Beatles, “Let It Be”; Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’”; Bob Marley & the Wailers, “No Woman, No Cry”; Toto, “Africa”; John Denver, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”; Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours”; Train, “Hey, Soul Sister”; Adele, “Someone like You”. Pick the key that suits your voice above; the chords change, the numbers do not.

Questions

What are the four chords on ukulele?

C, G, Am and F, the I, V, vi and IV of C major. The shapes: C 0003, G 0232, Am 2000 and F 2010 (G, C, E and A strings).

What are the easiest four chords on ukulele?

C, Am and F need one or two fingers; G needs three. Together they play the four chord loop C, G, Am, F.

What are the four chords in G on ukulele?

G, D, Em and C: 0232, 2220, 0432 and 0003.

What is the Axis of Awesome four chord song?

“Four Chords”, a 2008 medley by the Australian comedy band The Axis of Awesome, made of many hit songs sung over the same four chords, in D.

Sources

More chord stories: The forbidden chord, The saddest chord, The Picardy third, The most beautiful chord, The happiest chord, The Mario cadence, and famous chords such as the Tristan chord and the Hendrix chord. Also: the ukulele chord library, the chord finder and the chords in every key.