G major is one of the most popular keys in music. It is one of the first keys you should learn if you are starting to learn to guitar because chords in they key of G are fairly easy to play. Let’s look at the chords in the key of G major in more detail!
Chords in the key of G major (open position)
Here are the basic chords in G major and their most common fingering patterns in open position on the guitar.
| I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
| G | Am | Bm | C | D | Em | F#° |
 |  |  |  |  |  | Coming soon… |
The chart above shows harmonized G major scale. Check out this article on major scales to learn more about how major scales and chords are related.
Nice thing about playing in the key of G is that there is only 1 barre chord (Bm). You can ignore F#° chord which is rarely used in this key. Of course, you can play chords of G major scale in other parts of guitar fretboard.
Major chords in the key of G
There are 3 major chords in the key of G (G, C and D):
These major chords function as I, IV and V chords in the G major key, and are used in many popular chord progressions:
- I-IV-V
- I-V-IV
Minor chords in the key of G
There are 3 minor chords in the key of G. Em and Am are probably the easiest chords you can play on a guitar:
Knowing 3 major and 2 minor chords you can practice more sophisticated chord progressions like: G–Em–Am–D (I-vi-ii-V) which is another extremely common progression that is used in many popular songs.
Third minor chord in the key of G is a tricky one. It is a pesky barre chord, Bm. Good news is there are several different versions of the chord for you to pick from:
You can try these different versions of Bm and work on progressing from the easiest to the hardest version slowly. Feel free to choose one version over the other depending on the song you are playing and chords that come before and after this chord.
Popular chord progressions in the key of G major
| Chords | progression |
|---|---|
| G-C-D-G | I-IV-V-I |
| G-C-G-D | I-IV-I-V |
| G-Am-C-D | I-ii-IV-V |
| G-Em-C-D | I-vi-IV-V |
| G-Em-Am-D | I-vi-ii-V |
| Am-D-G | ii-V-I |
Practicing chords in the key of G
You can practice chords in the key of G by playing chord progressions mentioned above. You can also play chords in sequence G, Am, Bm, C, D, etc…
Once you are comfortable playing open position chords feel free to explore ways to play G major scale chords in other parts of the fretboard.
