Guitar · key of G minor

Chords in the key of G minor

The seven chords in the key of G minor are Gm, Adim, B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭ and F. B♭, E♭ and F are the major chords (III, VI and VII), Gm, Cm and Dm are the minor chords (i, iv and v), and Adim is diminished (ii°). Its relative major is B♭ major, which uses the same seven chords.

Key

Scale

The chords of G minor
Numeral	Triad	Notes	Seventh chord	Notes	Number	Role
i	Gmhome	G B♭ D	Gm7home	G B♭ D F	1m	tonic
ii°	Adimthe edge	A C E♭	Am7♭5the edge	A C E♭ G	2°	supertonic
III	B♭daylight	B♭ D F	B♭maj7daylight	B♭ D F A	3	mediant
iv	Cmsoft fall	C E♭ G	Cm7soft fall	C E♭ G B♭	4m	subdominant
v	Dmsoft fall	D F A	Dm7soft fall	D F A C	5m	dominant
VI	E♭cinematic	E♭ G B♭	E♭maj7cinematic	E♭ G B♭ D	6	submediant
VII	Fheroic	F A C	F7heroic	F A C E♭	7	subtonic
V	Dthe pull	D F♯ A	D7the pull	D F♯ A C	5	often used in place of Dm

Sound

Strum or arpeggiate any chord, tap a note to hear it, drag the strip under a picture to play it further up the neck, or pick another inversion. Library opens the chord there, with every other way to play it.

Gm

LibraryStandard

i · tonic

Adim

LibraryStandard

ii° · supertonic

B♭

LibraryStandard

III · mediant

Cm

LibraryStandard

iv · subdominant

Dm

LibraryStandard

v · dominant

E♭

LibraryStandard

VI · submediant

F

LibraryStandard

VII · subtonic

Chord progressions in G minor

Press a chord to hear it and see its shape, or Play to hear the progression on guitar. The colours say what each chord does in the key.

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullthe edgeheroiccinematicsoft falldaylight

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The minor key’s three chords

i | iv | v | i

Key Chord chart

i–iv–v–i, the minor key’s own three chords.

The epic minor progression

i | VI | III | VII

Key Chord chart

i–VI–III–VII, the sound of film scores and rock anthems.

The Andalusian cadence

i | VII | VI | V

Key Chord chart

Stepping down to a major fifth chord, heard in flamenco and in many rock songs.

To the relative major

i | iv | VII | III

Key Chord chart

i–iv–VII–III, a minor progression that lands on the relative major.

Climbing back home

i | VI | VII | i

Key Chord chart

i–VI–VII–i, common in rock and metal.

The minor ii–V–i

iiø7 | V7 | i7 | i7

Key Chord chart

The minor turnaround of jazz, in seventh chords.

The major fifth chord

In a minor key the fifth chord is often played major, D or D7 in place of Dm. Its third is the leading note of the harmonic minor scale, a half step below G, and it pulls back to Gm more strongly.

The relative major: B♭ major

B♭ major has the same notes and the same seven chords as G minor, starting from B♭. A song in one often moves to the other. The parallel major, G major, starts on the same note with a different set of chords.

Play it with a capo

G minor takes barre chords on guitar. A capo lets you play it with the open shapes of an easier key:

Capo 3, the shapes of E minor: Em, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C and D
Capo 5, the shapes of D minor: Dm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭ and C

The G minor scale and key signature

The notes of G minor are G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F. Its key signature has two flats: B♭ and E♭. Each chord of the key is built from these notes, a third apart: a chord on every note of the scale. See the G minor scale on the guitar neck, and the G minor pentatonic.

Keys nearby

On the circle of fifths, D minor and C minor sit on either side of G minor. Each shares six of its seven notes, which makes them the easiest keys to change to.

Every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

C minor C♯ minor D minor E♭ minor E minor F minor F♯ minor G minor G♯ minor A minor B♭ minor B minor

All twenty-four on one page: chords in every key. To print these chords, open them as a chord chart, or make your own in the chord chart maker. This key on bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.