G major: scale and chords

The G major scale

G A B C D E F♯

Seven notes, one sharp: F♯. On a piano that is six white keys and one black key. G is the white key between the first and second black keys of the group of three. F♯ is the black key just to its left, the first of that group. The steps between the notes are whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half (W W H W W W H), the pattern of every major scale; the half steps fall between B and C and between F♯ and G.

The G major key signature

The key signature of G major is one sharp on the F line, right after the clef: the top line of the treble clef, the fourth line of the bass clef. It makes every F an F♯, in every octave. F♯ is the first sharp of every sharp key signature (F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ B♯), and G is the first key on the sharp side of the circle of fifths. One sharp means G major or E minor: music that ends on E and uses D♯ is in E minor.

As degrees: G is the tonic, A the supertonic, B the mediant, C the subdominant, D the dominant, E the submediant and F♯ the leading tone, a half step under G. The chord on the dominant, D7, pulls back to G.

In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: G4 392.0 · A4 440.0 · B4 493.9 · C5 523.3 · D5 587.3 · E5 659.3 · F♯5 740.0

Play the scale

The G major scale on piano: fingering

Right hand: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5. Thumb on G, then A and B with fingers 2 and 3, the thumb tucks under to C, and D E F♯ G take 2 3 4 5. F♯ lands on the fourth finger. Over two octaves the thumb tucks under again after F♯: 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5.

Left hand: 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1. Little finger on G, then 4 3 2 1 up to the thumb on D, the third finger crosses over to E, then F♯ with 2 and G with the thumb. It is the fingering of C major; the only new thing is the black key.

The G major scale on guitar

Two octaves, from the G on the low E string (G2) to the G on the high E string (G4). Frets per string, low to high, 0 = open:

The open position rings five open strings. The 2nd position uses no open strings, one finger per fret with the index on the 2nd fret, so it moves: two frets up it plays A major, and so on for every major key.

G major scale on guitar · G major pentatonic scale · G major scale on piano

The G major chord (G) on guitar and piano

G B D

A chord chart that says just G means G major: G, B and D, the keynote, the major third (4 semitones up) and the fifth (7 up). Gmaj, GM and GΔ mean the same G major chord. Some charts use Gmaj loosely for Gmaj7, so check whether a 7 belongs there. Gm is G minor (G B♭ D), Gmaj7 adds F♯, G7 adds F. "G major" names both the key and this chord; in a song in G it is the chord everything comes home to, the I.

Guitar: 3 2 0 0 0 3 (low E to high E, x = not played). The open G: middle finger on the 3rd fret of the low E string, index on the 2nd fret of the A string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the high E; D, G and B ring open. All six strings sound, G three times.

Piano: G, B and D, three white keys. Right hand thumb, middle and little finger (1 3 5), left hand 5 3 1. Inverted, B D G and D G B are the same chord.

Play G

More ways to play G on guitar

The chords in G major

Build a three-note chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key: three major (G, C, D), three minor (Am, Bm, Em) and one diminished (F♯°). In Roman numerals: I ii iii IV V vi vii°.

Tap a chord to hear it.

The loop plays I–V–vi–IV: G D Em C.

Common chord progressions in G major

D7 (D F♯ A C) is the strongest pull home: its F♯ rises a half step to G, its C falls a half step to B. Two chords from outside the key turn up in songs in G all the time: F (♭VII, the Mixolydian rock sound) and C minor (iv, borrowed from G minor, a sad turn before the last G).

Relative minor, parallel minor and the keys that mix with G major

The relative minor of G major is E minor: the same seven notes and the same one-sharp key signature, with E as home. The parallel minor is G minor: the same keynote with two flats, three notes apart (B♭, E♭ and F instead of B, E and F♯). On the circle of fifths G sits one step clockwise from C: its dominant is D major (two sharps), its subdominant C major (none).

On the Camelot wheel G major is 9B (Open Key 2d), G minor 6A. Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:

• 9A E minor relative minor, the same seven notes
• 8B C major one step down
• 10B D major one step up
• 11B A major two steps up, the energy boost

What is G major used for, and why is it so good?

No key is better than another in equal temperament; G major is good to play because it sits where the open strings are. Every open string of a guitar (E A D G B E) and of a violin or mandolin (G D A E) is a note of G major, as in C and D major. G is the violin's lowest string, and the guitar's open G chord has G three times, the lowest note among them. Its main chords, G, C, D and Em, are all open chords on guitar. That is why folk, country, bluegrass and fiddle tunes sit in G so often, and why it is one of the first keys a guitarist, violinist or pianist learns.

Christian Schubart, poet and organist, described G major in the 1780s as "everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion" (Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst, written 1784, published 1806; translated by Rita Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics, 1983). Every major key has the same intervals, so G major is C major moved up a fifth; what gives it its open sound is the instruments: open strings ring longer and make the others resonate.

Reading a part in G: a B♭ trumpet, clarinet or tenor sax reads A major (three sharps) to sound in G, an alto sax in E♭ reads E major (four sharps), a horn in F reads D major.

Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): G4–G5 fits the soprano part; G3–G4 fits the alto and tenor parts; G2–G3 fits the bass part. Find your own range.

As a sub or an 808, the keynote is G1 at 49.0 Hz, or G2 at 98.0 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to G.

What plays

Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.

Songs in G major

• "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", Bob Dylan (1973): G D Am, G D C.
• "Brown Eyed Girl", Van Morrison (1967): G C G D.
• "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", Green Day (1997): G Cadd9 D, on the four-finger G.
• "Wish You Were Here", Pink Floyd (1975): C D Am G, the intro on Em7 and G.
• Bach, Cello Suite No. 1 (BWV 1007) and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (BWV 1048); the Minuet in G from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, now credited to Christian Petzold.
• Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik (K. 525); Haydn, the "Surprise" Symphony (No. 94); Beethoven, the Minuet in G (WoO 10 No. 2).

The G major pentatonic scale

Leave out the two notes that make the half steps, C and F♯, and five remain: G A B D E. With no half steps it is hard to hit a wrong note over the chords of the key, which makes it a safe first scale for improvising in G. It has the same notes as E minor pentatonic, so the minor pentatonic box guitarists know, played in open position or at the 12th fret, is G major pentatonic once you land on G. The G major blues scale adds B♭: G A B♭ B D E.

Play G major pentatonic

G flat major and G sharp major

G♭ major (G flat major, Gb): G♭ A♭ B♭ C♭ D♭ E♭ F, six flats. On a piano it is the same keys as F♯ major with six sharps, all five black keys and two white ones. Its chords are G♭ A♭m B♭m C♭ D♭ E♭m F°, its relative minor E♭ minor. The G♭ chord is G♭ B♭ D♭, three black keys. On guitar it is the E-shape barre at the 2nd fret, 2 4 4 3 2 2. Piano fingering, the same as F♯ major: right hand 2 3 4 1 2 3 1 2 (thumb on C♭ and F), left hand 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 4. The G♭ major pentatonic, G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭, is exactly the five black keys. Its dominant is D♭ major, its subdominant C♭ major. Chopin's "Black Key" Étude (Op. 10 No. 5), Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 and Debussy's "La fille aux cheveux de lin" are in G♭.

G♯ major (G sharp major, G#): G♯ A♯ B♯ C♯ D♯ E♯ F𝄪, eight sharps with a double sharp, so music is written in A♭ major (four flats) instead. Its relative minor would be E♯ minor, which is written as F minor. Its parallel minor is G♯ minor, five sharps, a key in its own right.

Is G major hard to play?

No, it is one of the easiest keys. On piano it has one black key, under the right hand's fourth finger. On guitar G, C, D and Em are open chords, among the first anyone learns; the only stretch is the open G's 3rd fret on both E strings, and the easy G skips it. On violin and mandolin the scale sits in first position with open strings.

"In G major": the video effect

On YouTube "G major" is also an editing effect from YouTube Poop: a clip, very often the Klasky Csupo logo, is layered with copies of itself pitch-shifted to the notes of a major chord, the colours inverted, so it sounds loud and warped. "G Major 1", "G Major 4" and the higher numbers are different recipes passed around in tutorials, usually for Sony Vegas. The name is a joke: the effect builds a major chord on whatever pitch the clip has; it does not put it in the key of G.

Is there a forbidden key in music?

No key is forbidden. The question usually means the tritone, the interval of three whole steps nicknamed "diabolus in musica", the devil in music. Medieval theory steered around it, but no church ban is on record. In G major it sits between C and F♯, and it is the part of D7 that pulls hardest toward G. Keys like G♯ major, which would need a double sharp, are avoided on paper and written in their twin (A♭ major) instead: inconvenient, not forbidden.

Then hum over it

The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.

Sources

Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Guitar shapes: Wikipedia, Barre chord. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.

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