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G minor guitar chord

G minor is G, B flat, and D. If you know G major, B flat is the note that changed. Look at the first picture.

x means muted. 0 means open.

G minor

Short code 310033, thickest string first.

  1. Low E string: fret 3, middle finger, note G, 1st.
  2. A string: fret 1, index finger, note B flat, 3rd.
  3. D string: open, note D, 5th.
  4. G string: open, note G, 1st.
  5. B string: fret 3, ring finger, note D, 5th.
  6. High E string: fret 3, pinky finger, note G, 1st.

G minor uses the notes G, B flat and D.

More G guitar chords.

Also G major, G dominant 7, G major 7, G minor 7, G suspended 2, G suspended 4, G power chord, G diminished, G augmented.

G minor, another shape

Short code 355333, thickest string first.

Barre fret 3 with the index finger on the low E, G, B and high E strings.

  1. Low E string: fret 3, index finger, note G, 1st.
  2. A string: fret 5, ring finger, note D, 5th.
  3. D string: fret 5, pinky finger, note G, 1st.
  4. G string: fret 3, index finger, note B flat, 3rd.
  5. B string: fret 3, index finger, note D, 5th.
  6. High E string: fret 3, index finger, note G, 1st.

G minor uses the notes G, D and B flat.

Why do these two G minor shapes sound different?

Both pictures are G, B flat, and D. That is G minor. The first picture has no barre and rings the open D string and the open G string. The second picture bars fret 3 on all six strings. Same three notes. The barre shape usually sounds thicker.

If the G minor in a song sounds thicker than the first picture, try the barre picture lower on this page. It is still G minor.

B flat is the note that makes this chord minor instead of major. On the first picture that B flat is on the A string, fret 1, index finger. Play G major after this. On G major that note is B. Listen for B flat turning into B.

Progressions that start on G minor

Play each line in order.

G minor, C minor, D major, G minor

G minor (Gm) and C minor (Cm) stay in the sad room. Then D major (D) lights up and yanks you home so hard it can raise the hair on your arms. Sad folk, Spanish-flavored guitar, and a lot of film music from the 60s on use that bright last lean. It feels like crying with your back straight.

G minor, C minor, F major, G minor

Stays sad the whole way. F major (F) is a window, not a rescue. Folk and rock ballads that do not want a happy ending. A porch at dusk, not a dance floor.

G minor, B flat major, F major, G minor

B flat major (Bb) shows up brighter, like a cousin who still smiles. Then F major, then back into Gm. 1990s and 2000s pop that wants a little daylight inside a sad song. Not cheerful. Not hopeless.

G minor, D major, G minor, D major

D major asks. Gm answers. Over and over, small and tight. Spy-movie tension, a tango you could almost dance, anything that needs a pulse more than a plot. Drama without a speech.

G minor, C minor, G minor, D major

Almost closes, then D major leaves the door cracked. Folk verses that are about to turn. The feeling is unfinished on purpose, like a sentence you have not ended yet.

Songs with G minor

Listen for this chord, then use the grip on this page.

Purple Rain

G minor sits in this Prince and the Revolution song. The recording is in B flat major. It also uses B flat major and F major. The chords go B flat major, G minor, F major, E flat major.

G minor is the second catalog chord, after B flat major.

Purple Rain is a B flat major song. After B flat major you play G minor. B flat major sits still. G minor is sadder. It is the turn.

Wendy Melvoin played the chords on guitar at rehearsal. Lisa Coleman told The Guardian that when Wendy hit those big chords, it changed Prince’s idea of the song. It took it out of that country feeling. His face said, how do you do that.

Then the whole band played it harder. They played it for about six hours straight. By the end of that day they had most of the song written and arranged.

G minor is the sadder chord after B flat major. Then you play F major.