Tense chord progressions for ukulele

Coiled, chromatic, refuses to settle. These progressions sound coiled and unresolved, usually sit in D minor, A minor, G minor and E minor and suit a tempo of around 132 BPM. Every chord has a ukulele diagram for standard GCEA tuning.

Generate a new tense progression

4 tense chord progressions to play now

A strum pattern for tense songs

One bar of eighth notes. Down arrows are downstrokes, up arrows upstrokes, dots are misses: keep your hand moving through them.

↓ ↑ ↓ · ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

How to use these progressions

Play each chord for the length shown, repeat the loop, and hum or sing over it until a melody turns up. The Roman numerals under each progression name the chords by their place in the key, so the same pattern works in any key: open it in the generator and change the key to suit your voice. Chord progressions are not covered by copyright, so anything you write over them is yours.

Same mood on guitar

Tense chord progressions for guitar

More moods for ukulele

• HappyBright major motion, front-porch energy
• SadMinor-led, slow to resolve
• RomanticWarm, tender, close-slow-dance
• EnergeticForward motion, driving strum
• ChillLaid-back, hammock-and-porch
• MysteriousModal shadows, minor sevenths
• NostalgicOld-time, folk-song familiarity
• DreamyFloating, soft-edged, unresolved
• TriumphantBroad, major, arms-in-the-air
• PlayfulBouncy, skipping, a bit cheeky