G major chord
The open chord with the most strings ringing and the most ways to hold it.
- How it sounds
- Big and bright. All six strings sound, three of them open, with the root at the top and the bottom, so it fills a room on its own. The three-finger and four-finger grips differ only in whether the B string is fretted at 3.
- Where it lives
- The V of C major, the chord that pulls back to C, and the I of G major, home to a lot of country and folk. Campfire songs, bluegrass, Dylan.
Voicings across the neck
G, B and D can be played in five places on the neck, each built from a different open chord shape. Neighbouring forms share a root, so each one hands over to the next, and together they run from the nut to the 13th fret. The open G form rings the most, with the three middle strings open. The E form at the 3rd fret is the full barre, tighter and more even. The D form at the 5th uses only the top four, and the A form at the 10th puts the root on the A string.
- High E string: G at fret 3
- B string: B at fret 0
- G string: G at fret 0
- D string: D at fret 0
- A string: B at fret 2
- Low E string: G at fret 3
- High E string: G at fret 3
- B string: D at fret 3
- G string: B at fret 4
- D string: G at fret 5
- A string: D at fret 5
- Low E string: G at fret 3
- High E string: B at fret 7
- B string: G at fret 8
- G string: D at fret 7
- D string: G at fret 5
- A string: not played
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: B at fret 7
- B string: G at fret 8
- G string: D at fret 7
- D string: B at fret 9
- A string: G at fret 10
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: D at fret 10
- B string: B at fret 12
- G string: G at fret 12
- D string: D at fret 12
- A string: G at fret 10
- Low E string: not played
Formula
| Intervals | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| R · M3 · P5: what each interval does in a chord | G · B · D | 4 + 3 |
G major is a root, a major third and a perfect fifth: G, B and D, the fifth, seventh and second notes of C major. Four then three is what makes a chord major. Turn the gaps round and B drops to B♭: G minor.
In these keys and scales
G major turns up in twelve scales on the site. It’s the I of G major and the V of C major, and C harmonic minor and C melodic minor keep it as their V too, which is where the major V in a minor key comes from. In D major it’s the IV, and in E minor the III, the relative major. The numeral beside each scale names the job, and the name opens that scale’s page.
| Family | Scales |
|---|---|
| Major | |
| Natural minor | |
| Harmonic minor | |
| Melodic minor | |
| Pentatonic |
Progressions
Two of these have G pulling back to C: V–I on its own, and I–V–vi–IV, where G comes second and the loop runs on to A minor. In I–IV–V G is home, and C and D keep sending the song back to it.