There is a lot of confusion about the arrangement of songs & chords and it is something I very often get asked about. Therefore, I will clarify a couple of concepts and terms.
There is no such thing as ukulele chords. There are just as few guitar chords and piano chords.
Very simplified: A chord is a collection of given notes, put together according to an old international standard. The simplest chords, which are most common in everything from shows to pop music, are so-called triads and quadratures.
A chord takes no account of which instrument(s) play the notes. There can be several instruments that each play their parts. There can be voices in a choir that form the chord.
For example, if the chord A minor is to be read, this chord can be played with anything from a collection of clay flutes, to a ukulele or a whole symphony orchestra.
A song with a so-called chord analysis, i.e. text with chords above, which you can find in loads of songbooks, online and not least at my courses, can therefore be played with all imaginable instruments.
Chord analysis can also occur over notes. The principle is the same.
The arrangements I use in my courses therefore do not contain ukulele chords. Not D or C ukulele chords, but chords. Neither more nor less. There are collections/floras of chords that are better suited to different instruments and worse to others. For example, C-tuned ukulele players, especially beginners, move around a certain set of chords, while D-tuned ones move around another.
This is primarily due to convenience and the fact that you have not learned so many chords. Not that there should be chords that only work for C-tuned ukulele and not for D-tuned.
Chord boxes and tablature are something else. This is usually where the confusion and misunderstandings arise. Chord boxes and tablature show fingerings and grips and say nothing about how it will sound.
A chord arrangement on a song that also displays chord boxes is tied, in a completely different way, to a specific instrument. Can be guitar, ukulele in one tuning or the other or, for example, mandolin.
It is possible to discuss whether chord analysis with chord boxes is good and educational. Many people think so, including many pedagogues and publishers. Many do not think so. I am one of them. Precisely because it "locks" the arrangement and makes it difficult to use for anything other than a specific instrument. In the ukulele world, chord analysis with chord boxes is particularly unfortunate because it is often not clear whether it is for a C or D tuned ukulele. For a beginner, it can be very confusing.
