ChordWheel › Keys › G major
Chords in the key of G major
G major has 1 sharp (F♯). Its seven chords are G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F♯° . Its relative minor is E minor , which uses the same chords with Em as home.
C major A minor C Am IV ii G major E minor G Em I vi D major B minor D Bm V iii A major F♯ minor A F♯m E major C♯ minor E C♯m B major G♯ minor B G♯m F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm G 4 2 1 6 5 3 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open G major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I G Gmaj7 ii Am Am7 iii Bm Bm7 IV C Cmaj7 V D D7 vi Em Em7 vii° F♯° F♯m7♭5
I
open
3fr root on 6th string
G · B · D ii
× open
5fr root on 6th string
A · C · E iii
7fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B · D · F♯ IV
× open
8fr root on 6th string
C · E · G V
× × open
10fr root on 6th string
D · F♯ · A vi
open
7fr × root on 5th string
E · G · B 7th chords
Common progressions in G major
G D Em C I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) G Em C D I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) Em C G D vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) G C D I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country Am D G ii V I The jazz cadence G F C G I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) G C Cm G I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from G minor dropped into G major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (Gsus4 → G). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Gsus2, Gsus4, Gadd9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The G major scale
G major: G A B C D E F♯ . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
C major : one step counterclockwise; F♯ becomes F. A smooth key change.D major : one step clockwise; C becomes C♯. A smooth key change.E minor : the relative minor, same notes.G minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of G major? The seven chords in G major are G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F#°. As 7th chords: Gmaj7, Am7, Bm7, Cmaj7, D7, Em7, F#m7b5.
How many sharps or flats does G major have? G major has 1 sharp (F#).
What is the relative minor of G major? E minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in G major? I V vi IV: G D Em C; I vi IV V: G Em C D; vi IV I V: Em C G D.