The G Major scale is not too difficult to remember. It is very similar to the C major scale, except it has an F# instead of an F. Using your knowledge of this scale will allow you to find, build, and start playing G Major chords.
G Major Chords
The G major chords are the chords that are built using the notes in the G major scale; G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G.
What are the chords in the key of G major?
The chords in the key of G major are:
- G (I)
- Am (ii)
- Bm (iii)
- C (IV)
- D (V)
- Em (vi)
- F#dim (vii°)
*diminished chords (dim, for short) are denoted by the degree symbol (ex: B° = Bdim) The formula for a diminished chord is I – bIII – bV.
What are the notes of the G Major scale?
Like we said above, G Major is almost identical to C major. The exceptions are the F in C major is an F# in G major. And, of course, we start on the G note, which is directly to the right of the first black key in the set of 3.
One key that is identical to G major is E minor. G major and E minor are what is known as a relative keys (more on that later).
From the G note we form a major scale like so:
| I (Tonic) | II (Supertonic) | III (Mediant) | IV (Subdominant) | V (Dominant) | VI (Submediant) | VII (Subtonic) |
| Whole | Whole | Half | Whole | Whole | Whole | Half |
| G | A | B | C | D | E | F# |
Whole – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – Half
So, looking at your keyboard:
- G to A is a whole step
- A to B is a whole step
- B to C is a half step
- C to D is a whole step
- D to E is a whole step
- E to F# is a whole step
- F# to G is a half step
Relative and Parallel Keys
Parallel keys are those that contain the same root tonic, or root note. For instance, in the key of G major, it’s parallel key is G minor since they both share the same G note tonic.
The difference between two parallel keys are the III, VI, and VII notes. If you are in a major key, like G major, and you want to know the notes in the parallel minor key, you flatten the III, VI, and VII notes. Likewise, you sharpen those same notes if you are in the minor key, like G minor.
Let’s see how that looks when written out:
- G (I)
- A (II)
- B (III)
- C (IV)
- D (V)
- E (VI)
- F# (VII)
If we flatten the III, VI, and VII to turn the key minor, it will look like this:
- G (I)
- A (II)
- Bb (bIII)
- C (IV)
- D (V)
- Eb (bVI)
- F (bVII)
The relative key is even simpler. You already know it if you have the current key memorized. A relative key share the exact same notes as each other. The ONLY difference between them is the tonic, or where the scale starts.
For G major, the relative minor is E minor. They both have all of the same notes, they just start in different positions. Let’s take a look, shall we?
G Major
- G (I)
- A (II)
- B (III)
- C (IV)
- D (V)
- E (VI)
- F# (VII)
E minor
- E (I)
- F# (II)
- G (III)
- A (IV)
- B (V)
- C (VI)
- D (VII)
Understanding parallel and relative keys will help you in the long run when you are trying to write your own music. Plus, if you memorize one key, you basically have 3 different keys memorized (4 if you count the relative key to the original parallel key).
Remember:
| Parallel Key means you either sharpen or flatten the III, VI, & VII notes but they share the same tonic. |
| Relative Key means they share the same notes but each have a different tonic. |
Now you just use those notes to build your chords.
How do I find G Major chords?
To build chords we use what is called a triad. As the name implies, you just need 3 notes to build a chord. The formula is I – III – V, for major triad chords, and I – bIII – V for minor triads.
You can see the G Major scale below. You will notice that above each note is a Roman numeral. Those Roman numerals are what we use in our chord formulas.
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII |
| G | A | B | C | D | E | F# |
So, using the two formulas above, we can build a G major chord with the notes:
- G (I)
- B (III)
- D (V)
We can build an Am chord using the notes:
- A (I)
- C (bIII)
- E (V)
To build chords using the G major scale you will only use these notes. The formula to figure out the chords is I – ii – iii – IV – V – vi – vii°.
So the chords of the key of G will look like:
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
| G | Am | Bm | C | D | Em | F#dim |
The reason you have minor chords in a major key is because you can only use the notes within the key to make the chords. For example, the Am above is A – C – E, which is actually the triad formula I – bIII – V. But an A major chord is A – C# – E, or I – III – V. Since C# is not a note in the key of G, it is not available to make the chord.
G Major Chords (Diagrams)
That’s enough about scales and theory. You are here to learn how to play the chords in the key of G major. We have included both the chords as well as the 7th chord variation. 7th chords add a bit of flair to a chord and just sound nice.
Inversions
Inversions are great for a few reasons. The first, when you are starting out, they are a great way of learning the layout of the keyboard and becoming comfortable with finding your notes quickly and easily.
The second reason is inversions change the sound of your chord to give your playing a bit of variety. You can play the same chord as an inversion and it will possess different tonal qualities.
All inversions are, when you get right down to it, is playing the notes of a chord in a different order. For example, the G Major chord from above uses the notes G – B – D. This is known as the first inversion.
To play a second inversion you would use the notes B – D – G. The G note would be the next octave up on the keyboard. The third inversion would be D – G – B where the G and B notes are in the next octave up.
You can do this anywhere on the keyboard with any chord you want!
| Inversion | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Chord Formula | G – B – D | B – D – G | D – G – B |
First Inversion
Second Inversion
Third Inversion
Modified Chords
To play modified chords we have to assign numbers to the keys in a scale. This is similar to how the Roman numerals were listed above but we use standard numbers instead.
Since we’re in the key of G major, let’s start at the G key. That is 1, A is 2, B is 3, and so on until you get to the next octave E, which is 13.
- G = 1
- A = 2
- B = 3
- C = 4
- D = 5
- E = 6
- F# = 7
- G = 8
- A = 9
- B = 10
- C = 11
- D = 12
- E = 13
For the most part, in both add and sus chords, we will use the 2, 4, 11, and 13. Occasionally, you will find a 6 or a 9 but it is not too common.
sus and add chords will either add onto or substitute (suspend) the notes of a triad.
add Chords
add Chords are very easy to build. Take your triad and simply add a note to it. For example, if you wanted to play a Gadd4 you would take your G major triad notes, I – III – V or G – B – D, and just add a IV, or C, not to it. That’s all there is to it! A Gadd7, or G7, is G – B – D – F#.
You have likely noticed that the 2 and 9, the 4 and 11, and 6 and 13 all share notes. What that means is, like in the inversions above, you play the note in the next higher octave. For example, the note order for Gadd2 is G – A – B – D. Whereas, a Gadd9 is G – B – D – A.
sus Chords
Suspended chords, also called sus chords, are just as easy. The only difference is instead of playing the notes with the chord, you replace the III note with the new note.
For example, if you want to play Gsus2, you would take you G major triad, G – B – D, and replace, or suspend, the III, or B, note with a II, or A, note. That chord would be G – A – D.
Again, easy peasy. If you want to add even more layers to it, you can add in a 7th chord. 7th notes add a little extra flavor to your chords and always sound nice. If you wanted to play the Gsus2add7 it would look like G – A – D – F#.
The G Major Scale
To help further solidify the G major scale in your mind, here is how it looks on both a keyboard and a music staff.
Songs In The Key Of G
There are a ton of great songs written in the key of G. Try playing some of these yourself. You know the key and the chords available to you, maybe you can figure them out on your own.
- The Beatles – Blackbird
- Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
- Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes
- Green Day – Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
- Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends
- Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child of Mine
- Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
- Jack Johnson – Banana Pancakes
- Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire
- Nirvana – Come as You Are
- The Marshall Tucker Band – Can’t You See
- John Mayer – Gravity
- Metallica – Enter Sandman
- Metallica – Nothing Else Matters
- Motorhead – Ace of Spades
- Passenger – Let Her Go
- Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
- Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
- Radiohead – Creep
- Bob Seger – Turn the Page
- Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me)
- Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
- Weezer – Island in the Sun
- Neil Young – Rockin’ in the Free World
- Hans Zimmer – Time
Wrap Up!
With this list of G major chords you can play any song in the key of G. Have fun playing!
