Half-Diminished Chords

A minor seven flat five (m7♭5) or half-diminished chord is a diminished chord type. Playing a diminished triad or diminished seven substitute doesn't really sound all that great. You're better off just learning a new chord and add it to your chord vocabulary. This type of chord shows up all the time in jazz standards and the Great American Songbook.

Basic Chord Substitution

For songs with more advanced chords like major sevenths, ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, etc. Basic chords that you might already know can be played.

Chords fall into four basic types: major, minor, diminished and augmented. Even the above mentions advanced chords fall into one of these three basic chord types.

Here is a simplified substitution list to follow:

• A basic major chord can be substituted for maj7 and maj9 chords.
• A basic minor chord can be substituted for m7, m9 and m11 chords.
• A dominant seventh chords or seventh chord is a major chord type. So, a basic major chard can be substituted for any seventh chord.

One basic principle to follow when substituting chords is – if these is a sharp or flat five (5) in the chord you don't want to substutite a chord with a natural fifth in it.

Other substitutions are possible but beyond the scope of presenting this song.

Recommended and Alternate Chord Fingerings

Fingerings are not shown. Any fingering would only be a recommended fingering and not mandatory. For many chords there are alternate fingerings, with any particular fingering dependent how the chord is being used in relationship to its previous chord and the next chord.

A guide to reading a `ukulele chord diagram is available right here on my site.

As a “jazz” standard Blue Bossa uses 4-part contemporary, a.k.a "jazz" chords. Using a wider range of chords than your typical rock, pop or folk song. You'll definitely need to venture beyond the third fret of your instrument to play this arrangement.

When venturing into solo ukulele and “jazz” chords, a core set of chords and a solid foundation on how chords are constructed are needed to be successful in this style of music.

Core Jazz Chords for Ukulele - The “Big Six”. A series of ukulele lessons for developing a core set of 4-part contemporary chords.

How I Learned these “Jazz” Chords... Learning these more advanced chords doesn't take some mythical secret knowledge. All it takes is knowing how chords are created - where they come from. I learned them over many years. Using the information I ultimately put down in my book A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele. Study how to make any chord you will ever need to play using the tried and true chord formulas that the pros use. They're all in this book.

A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords - VOLUME I Commonly referred to as "jazz" chords. A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords Volume I provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords.

Beyond learning the basic Ukulele chords, most Ukulele players struggle with advanced chords. Commonly called "jazz" chords, these more sophisticated voicings find a wide use in all forms of music.

This volume of A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer. Even chord theory does not offer any insight into unraveling the complexity of advanced chords.

NEW 2nd Edition includes example chord progressions based on standard chord progressions and songs.

Tunings: C low or high “G” - (GCEA or gCEA).

For more information and samples checkout the A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords book information.

A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords - VOLUME I Commonly referred to as "jazz" chords. A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords Volume I provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords.

Beyond learning the basic Ukulele chords, most Ukulele players struggle with advanced chords. Commonly called "jazz" chords, these more sophisticated voicings find a wide use in all forms of music.

This volume of A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer. Even chord theory does not offer any insight into unraveling the complexity of advanced chords.

NEW 2nd Edition includes example chord progressions based on standard chord progressions and songs.

Tunings: C low or high “G” - (GCEA or gCEA).

For more information and samples checkout the A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords book information.