Play The G Major chord on guitar

G maj position 1 guitar chord diagram

The G major chord is quite easy as it requires only 3 fingers.

The standard voicing has a big and bright sound, because it uses three open strings, and sounds great on an acoustic guitar.

This chord is derived from the G major scale, which is G A B C D E F# G, stacking the first, 3rd and 5th notes: G B and D.

To learn how chords are created, check my chord construction how-to.

On music scores and guitar tabs, you could encounter these name variations for the G Major chord:

  • G Major
  • G Maj
  • G M
  • G Major Triad
  • Gmaj
  • Or simply G (the quality is often implicit with major chords)

This chord is built by stacking the root, the 3rd and the 5th of the G major scale.

Notes in the G maj chord:

GBD

Tones of the Major chord:

1
b2
2
b3
3
4
b5
5
#5
6
b7
7

Keys With The G Major Chord

Here are the most common keys that have a G major chord.

The most common place where to find a G major chord is the 5th degree of the C major key, in which its function is dominant.

In this role, often it's played like a G7 dominant chord, which create a strong tension than can be resolved on the tonic.

C Major Key

Key I ii iii IV V vi vii
C C Dm Em F G Am B dim

G Major Key

Key I ii iii IV V vi vii
G G Am Bm C D Em F# dim

D Major Key

Key I ii iii IV V vi vii
D D Em F#m G A Bm C# dim

E Minor Key

Key i ii III iv v VI VII
E Em F# dim G Am Bm C D

A Minor Key

Key i ii III iv v VI VII
A Am B dim C Dm Em F G

B Minor Key

Key i ii III iv v VI VII
B Bm C# dim D Em F#m G A

Songs With The G Major Chord

There are a tons of easy guitar songs with the G chord.

Here are some notable examples:

  • Big Rock Candy Mountain
  • You Shook Me All Night Long (Ac/Dc)
  • Ring Of Fire
  • Yellow Submarine
  • Sweet Home Alabama
  • Free Bird

As you can see, the list could be endless, so you really must know the G major chord!

Possible Substitutions For The G Major Chord

Depending on its role in the progressions, this chord can be substituted with other forms:

You can use a G sus2 or a G sus4 instead a G major chord. These are suspended chords than don't have the 3rd.

When found at the 5th degree of the progession, you can use a G7 or a G diminished chord instead of the G major chord.

To sound more jazzy, you could even use a Db7 instead of the G7 (this is called tritone substitution).

G Major Chord Fretboard Shapes

Chord boxes are sorted from the easiest to the hardest. Learn how to read chord diagrams.

If you have difficulties with bar chord shapes, check the Bar Chords Tips tutorial.

Find more shapes on my all guitar chords online library.

Position 1
Open

G maj position 4 guitar chord diagram

Position 2
Movable

G maj position 14 guitar chord diagram

Position 3
Movable

G maj position 15 guitar chord diagram

Position 4
Open

G maj position 9 guitar chord diagram

Position 5
Movable

G maj position 19 guitar chord diagram

Position 6
Open

G maj position 10 guitar chord diagram

Position 7
Open

G maj position 17 guitar chord diagram

Position 8
Movable

G maj position 7 guitar chord diagram

Position 9
Open

G maj position 13 guitar chord diagram

Position 10
Open

G maj position 1 guitar chord diagram

Position 11
BarreMovable

G maj position 6 guitar chord diagram

Position 12
Open

G maj position 5 guitar chord diagram

Position 13
BarreMovable

G maj position 8 guitar chord diagram

Position 14
BarreMovable

G maj position 11 guitar chord diagram

Position 15
BarreMovable

G maj position 3 guitar chord diagram

Position 16
BarreMovable

G maj position 18 guitar chord diagram

Position 17
BarreMovable

G maj position 2 guitar chord diagram

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Play This Chord With Other Roots

C maj | D maj | E maj | F maj | G maj | A maj | B maj | C#maj | D#maj | F#maj | G#maj | A#maj

How to create your own G maj chord fingerings

Pick some of the tones from the fretboard map below and play this chord in new ways.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
5
1
3
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1
3
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1