G — G major chord
Root, major third and perfect fifth. The default three-note chord.
- 1 = G
- 3 = B
- 5 = D
- Symbol
- G
- Root
- G
- Quality
- Major
- Family
- triad
- Notes
- G B D
- Degree formula
1 3 5- Semitones from the root
0 4 7- Distinct pitch classes
- 3
- Interval structure
- Stacked from the root: 4 semitones, 3 semitones
- Notation
- Written as the bare letter name, for example C.
- Key
- G · G major / E minor key signature
Formula
The chord tones in order from the root, with the interval each one forms above it.
| Degree | Note | Semitones | Interval from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G | 0 | Perfect unison |
| 3 | B | 4 | Major third |
| 5 | D | 7 | Perfect fifth |
Inversions
An inversion is the same set of notes with a different one in the bass. The last column gives the distance of each note above the bass note, in semitones.
| Inversion | Bass note | Degree in the bass | Notes above the bass | Semitones above the bass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| root position | G | 1 | G – B – D | 0 4 7 |
| first inversion | B | 3 | B – D – G | 0 3 8 |
| second inversion | D | 5 | D – G – B | 0 5 9 |
Playable voicings
These shapes were found by searching the fretboard of a standard-tuned guitar (E A D G B E) rather than copied from a chord book. The search allows every string to sound or to be muted, rejects any shape with a muted string between two sounding strings, rejects any shape whose fretted notes span more than four frets (a five-fret window), requires every chord tone to be present, and then sorts what remains with root-position shapes first and the most compact, lowest shapes next. The shapes shown are the first six of that ordering; other orderings are possible at the same frets.
| # | Shape (low string first) | Notes | Degrees | Bass | Span (frets) | Sounding strings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-5-5-4-3-3 | G D G B D G | 1 5 1 3 5 1 | G | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 3-2-0-0-0-3 | G B D G B G | 1 3 5 1 3 1 | G | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 3-2-0-0-3-3 | G B D G D G | 1 3 5 1 5 1 | G | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 3-2-5-4-3-3 | G B G B D G | 1 3 1 3 5 1 | G | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | 15-14-12-12-12-15 | G B D G B G | 1 3 5 1 3 1 | G | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | 15-14-12-12-15-15 | G B D G D G | 1 3 5 1 5 1 | G | 3 | 6 |
Shape numbers run from the lowest string to the highest, so the left-hand number is the sixth string (low E) in standard tuning. Multiple shapes are listed because a chord can be voiced several ways, and because a lower position is not always the better sounding one.
Related chords and scales
Related
- KeyKey of G
- ScaleG major
- ChordGm — Minor
- ChordGmaj7 — Major seventh
- ChordG6 — Sixth
- ChordGsus4 — Suspended fourth
- ChordEm — Minor
- ChordGaug — Augmented