G major chord on piano (G)

G major (G) is a three-note chord: G, B and D. All of its notes are white keys. On the keyboard above, the chord is lit starting in the octave of middle C, and Play chord lets you hear it.

How to find G on the keyboard

• G is the white key between the first and second of the three black keys.
• B is the white key just right of a group of three black keys.
• D is the white key between the two black keys of a pair.

Press Practice chord to find G, B and D on the keyboard, one at a time in any order. Each correct key leaves the highlighted set. Change inversion to try another position; Stop ends the exercise or a demonstration. Practice checks the selected notes without grading timing or how long you hold them.

Fingering

In root position, play G with the right hand using fingers 1, 3 and 5 (thumb, middle finger and little finger); with the left hand, use 5, 3 and 1. Keep your wrist level and your fingers curved, and press the keys at the same moment so the chord sounds as one.

Inversions

The same notes can be stacked in a different order. Each inversion moves the lowest note up an octave.

• Root position, the root in the bass: G – B – D. Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1.
• First inversion, B in the bass: B – D – G. Right hand 1-2-5, left hand 5-3-1.
• Second inversion, D in the bass: D – G – B. Right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-2-1.

Chords that sit next to each other in a key often share one or two notes, so choosing the right inversion can keep your hand almost still when the chord changes.

How G is built

G has a root, a major third four half steps above it (B) and a perfect fifth seven half steps above the root (D). Between G and B are four half steps, and between B and D three. That order, the larger third at the bottom, is what makes the chord sound major: bright and settled. Swap the thirds and you get G minor, G, B♭ and D, with the middle note one key lower. Add a minor seventh above the root of the major triad to make G7.

Keys that use G

G belongs to these keys (the roman numeral shows its place in each):

• I in G major
• IV in D major
• V in C major
• III in E minor
• VI in B minor
• VII in A minor

Progressions to try

Open a pattern in the progression generator, then press Play.

• I – IV – V – I in G major: G – C – D – G, the backbone of countless folk songs, hymns and blues.
• I – V – vi – IV: G – D – Em – C, the four-chord loop behind a great many pop songs.
• I – vi – IV – V: G – Em – C – D, often called the 1950s progression.

Play each chord for four beats and repeat the loop. The chord finder shows every chord in these progressions. To hear the changes together, choose the key and pattern in the chord progression generator, then adjust the inversions to reduce hand movement.