Author Archives: Janelle Durham

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About Janelle Durham

I teach Discovery Science Lab and Family Inventors' Lab, STE(A)M enrichment classes in Bellevue, Washington for ages 3 - 9. I am also a parent educator for Bellevue College, a childbirth educator for Parent Trust for Washington Children, former program designer for PEPS - the Program for Early Parent Support, and a social worker.

C, F, G7 Songs on Ukulele

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If you’ve been working your way through my Uke School tutorials, you should know how to play C, F, and G7 chords, so let’s try some three chord songs!

Twinkle Tune and variants

There are LOTS of songs you can sing to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

(C) Twinkle, twinkle, (F) little (C) star
(G7) How I (C) wonder (G7) what you (C) are
Up a(F)bove the (C) world so (G7) high,
(C) Like a (F) diamond (C) in the (G) sky
(C) Twinkle, twinkle, (F) little (C) star
(G7) How I (C) wonder (G) what you (C) are

(C) Two little eyes to (F) look a(C)round
(G7) Two little (C)ears to (G7) hear each (C) sound
One little (F) nose to (C) smell what’s (G7) sweet
(C) One little (F) mouth that (C) likes to (G7) eat.
(C) Eyes and ears and (F) nose and (C) mouth.
(G7) Eyes and (C) ears and (G7) nose and (C) mouth.

(C) ABCD (F)EF (C)G (F)HI (C)JK (G7)LMNO (C)P  QR (F)S (C)TU (G7)V (C)W (F)X (C)Y and (G7)Z. (C)Now I know my (F)AB (C)C’s. (F)Next time (C)won’t you (G7) sing with (C) me.

(C) Snowflake, snowflake (F) fancy (C) free.
(G7) Snowflake (C) snowflake (G7) dance with (C) me
First on my (F) head (C) then on my (G7) toes
(C) then on my (F) nose where the (C) cold wind (G7) blows
(C) Snowflake snowflake (F) turn a(C)round.
(G7) Snowflake (C) snowflake (G7) touch the (C) ground.

More C F G7

You are my (C) sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me (F) happy when skies are (C) gray.
You’ll never (F) know dear how much I (C) love you,
Please don’t take my (G7) sunshine (C) away.

Happy (C) birthday to (G7) You,
Happy birthday to (C) You,
Happy Birthday dear (F) [name]
Happy (C) birthday (G7) to (C) you.

(C)This old man, he played one, (F) he played knick knack
(G7) on my thumb, with a (C) knick knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
(G7) this old man came (C) rolling home.

(C) Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
(G7) Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
(C) Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
(F) Won’t you (G7)  be my (C) darling

(C) Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes
Head Shoulders Knees and (G7)Toes, Knees and Toes
And (C) Eyes and [C7] Ears and (F) Mouth and [F7] Nose
(G7) Head Shoulders Knees and (C)Toes, Knees and Toes

C and G7 Songs on Ukulele

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This page assumes you know how to play a C chord and strum. If you’re not there yet, start with Getting Started on the Ukulele, 

Playing G7 Chord

(C) London Bridge is ( ) Falling Down (G7)Falling down, (C)Falling Down
( ) London Bridge is ( ) Falling Down (G7) My Fair (C) Lady.

(C) Here we go Looby Loo. Here we go Looby (G7) Lie
(C) Here we go Looby Loo. (G) All on a Saturday (C) night.
I put my (right hand) in. I take my (right hand) out
I (G7) give my (hand) a shake, shake, shake.
And turn myself a(C)bout.

(C) Someone is hiding, (G7) hiding, (C) hiding.
Someone is hiding, who (G7) could it (C) be? (none) Peekaboo!

Find lots more ukelele tutorials at https://gooddayswithkids.com/for-professionals/music-time/#UkeSchool

C and G Songs on Ukulele

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If you’re new to ukulele, then before this, be sure to check out: Getting Started on the Ukulele, C and F songs, and C7 and F songs. They’re intended to be learned sequentially to build your skills.

Playing G Chord

Playing C and G Songs

Here are the songs in that video:

10 Little Indians Tune

(I don’t sing the Ten Little Indians song, but it’s tune is the basis of many songs!

(C) 1 little, 2 little, 3 little snowflakes
(G) 4 little, 5 little, 6 little snowflakes
(C) 7 little, 8 little, 9 little snowflakes
(G) 10 snowflakes on the (C)  ground

(C) 1 little, 2 little, 3 little bubbles… in the sky

(C) Lift one foot and then the other,
(G) Lift one foot and then the other
(C) Lift one foot and then the other,
(G) Lift them both to(C)gether.

(C) Where oh where are  (baby’s)  fingers?
(G) Where oh where are ________ toes?
(C) Where is _______ belly button?
(G or G7) Round and round it (C) goes!
(C) Where oh where are _______ ears?
(G) Where oh where is _______ nose?
(C) Where is _______ belly button?
(G or G7) Round and round it (C) goes!

Open / Shut Them

(C) Open (G) shut them, (C) open (G) shut them,
(C) give a little (G) clap clap clap.
(C) Open (G) shut them, (C) open (G) shut them.
( ) Lay them in your (C) lap lap lap.
( ) Creep them (G) crawl them, (C) creep them (G) crawl them
(C) Right up to your (G) chin chin chin
(C) Open up your (G) little mouth,  But ( ) do not let them (C) in!

Ring Around the Rosie Tune

(C) Ring around the rosie, A ( ) pocket full of posies,
( ) Ashes, ashes, We (G) all fall (C) down!
( ) Cows are in the meadow, ( ) Eating buttercups.
( ) Thunder! Lightning! We (G) all stand (C) up!

(C) Walk around the circle, ( ) all around the circle.
( ) Walking, walking, let’s (G) all do (C) this:  
[stop and do an action, like jump – they copy]

Barney’s Clean Up Song

(C) Clean Up, ( ) Clean Up. (G)Everybody (C)Everywhere.
( ) Clean Up, ( ) Clean Up. (G)Everybody (C)Do Your Share

C7 and F Songs on Ukulele

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If you’re new to ukulele, check out Getting Started on the Ukulele, and C and F songs.

Playing a C7 chord

To play a C7, you put your first finger (index finger) on the first fret of the A string (the one lowest down as you hold your uke.

Here’s a video of the C7 chord in action, on the song Oh My Darling Clementine.

(F) Oh my darling, () oh my darling, () oh my darling Clemen(C)tine,
() You were lost and gone for(F)ever dreadful (C) sorry Clemen(F)tine

Playing Songs with F and C7

And here are some more F and C7 songs. You can find lyrics with chords at: https://tinyurl.com/ChordsKidSongs

(F) Are you sleeping, () are you sleeping?
(C7) Brother (F) John? (C7)Brother (F) John?
(C7)Morning bells are (F) ringing, (C7) Morning bells are (F) ringing.
(C7) Ding ding (F) dong, (C7) ding ding (F) dong.

(F) Skip skip skip to my lou (C7) Skip skip skip to my lou
(F) Skip skip skip to my lou (C7) Skip to my lou my (F) darling 

Next video:

(F) Here we go round the () mulberry bush
(C7) Mulberry bush, () mulberry bush 
(F) Here we go round the ()mulberry bush
(C7) So early in the (F) morning.

The (F) more we get together, to(C7)gether, to(F)gether,
the () more we get together, the (C7)happier we’ll (F) be! (‘cause)
(C7)your friends are (F)my friends and (C7)my friends are your (F)friends.
The () more we get together, the (C7)happier we’ll (F)be!

Next video:

(F) It’s time to say goodbye. [echo]
(F) To all of our friends. [echo]
We’ll (C7) see you all (F) another day. [echo]
When we (C7) all come back to (F) play. [echo]

(F) You put your hand in, () You put your hand out,
() You put your hand in And you (C7) shake it all about.
() You do the hokey pokey As you () turn yourself around
() That’s what it’s all (F) about!

(F) Five little ducks went (C7) out one day,
() over the hills and (F) far away.
() Mama Duck said quack, (C7) quack, quack, quack.
() But only four little ducks came (F) back.

Once you’ve mastered these, you can learn G chord, and then play C and G songs.

Two Chord (C and F) Songs on Ukulele

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In my post on Getting Started on the Ukulele, I covered how to play the C chord – start there. Then, come here to learn the F chord, how to switch between C and F, how to play some simple kids’ songs using those chords.

F Chord

To play this chord, place your first finger (index finger) on the first fret of the E string, and your second finger (middle) on the second fret of the G string (the one closest to your face). Strum each string one at a time – do they all ring out, or do any of them sound dull and clunky? If they’re dull, adjust your fingers to be sure they are pressing firmly on the string you want to press on and that they’re not accidentally bumping up against one of the strings that should be played open. Once all four strings sound good separately, strum them together to make the F chord.

Here’s a quick video overview:

Here’s another quick walk through of F chord. Of if you’d like a slower walk-through, try Bernadette’s.

Switching between F and C

Start with F chord. Strum four times. Switch to C and strum four times. Repeat that several times till it feels smoother.

A nice thing about C and F is they use different fingers. When playing F with your first and second finger, you can keep your third finger (ring) poised above the string, ready to press back down when it’s time to play the C. So, for the switch, you put the ring finger down and lift the other two slightly above the strings.

Let’s Play a Song!

Every time you see parentheses, you’ll strum. When you see (F), you’ll strum once on the F chord. If you just see the parentheses with no letter between them, that means you strum the last chord again – no change needed. So, in this notation, you’ll strum F, and then strum it again on the top line, then switch to C, strum once, strum F, strum C, strum F.

(F)The farmer in the dell, the () farmer in the dell,
(C)Hi-ho, (F)the derry-o! (C)The farmer in the (F)dell.

Try playing that several times to see how it goes. Then try shifting your strumming pattern:

Then try singing different words to that same tune:

Then try this one:

(F) Oh my darling, () oh my darling, () oh my darling () Clemen(C)tine,
() You were lost and gone for(F)ever dreadful (C) sorry Clemen(F)tine

And a classic:

The (F) wheels on the bus go () round and round,
(C) Round and round, (F) round and round,
The () wheels on the bus go () round and round
(C) All through the (F) town.

Play that several times till it’s feeling good. There are many different children’s songs set to the tune of Wheels on the Bus, so that tune will take you far!

A brief note on keys: songs can be played in different keys, which means using different sets of chords. I have intentionally, to simplify things, clustered songs together that are easy to play on the C and F chord, even though there are other perfectly fine ways to play them. Here’s Wheels played on C and G chords (everywhere you were playing F, play C, everywhere you were playing G, play C), and on D and A.

To learn more kids’ songs that only use C and F, check out my Easy Children’s Songs on Ukulele song sheets. Here’s Itsy Bitsy Spider, Kookaburra, and Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Hurray! You’ve learned lots of songs using C and F!

Next step, when you’re ready, is learning the C7 chord and playing C7 and F songs.