So You Want To Play a G Chord!
A G Major Chord Consists of the Notes: G B and D, so if you play piano you are set, but for guitar players, I will give some advice on how to play the G and some little variations!
G Major is very important!
Now there are a few variations on how to play this chord but it isn’t very complicated. Perhaps you mute the A string, or you put your ringer finger on the third fret on the B string, it’s all still much easier to play than the F chord.
The G Chord Shape
You are going to be playing lots and lots of G chords! I really like how this chord sounds, it’s like someone saying “Yay”!
Well, this bad boy is very useful to beginner guitarists. Why? Because the G is the V chord in the key of C, so it’s one of the chords involved in the I vi IV V chord progression which is a very popular progression. But I digress, in order to play it properly you are going to want to:
Tip 1, Proper Finger Placement
- Middle finger is on the third fret of the E string
- Index finger is on the second fret of the A string
- Ring finger on the third fret of the B string (optional, but reccommended)
- Pinky finger on the third fret of the little E string
Tip 2, Ringer finger on third fret of B string
Why should you do this?
Try playing the three-finger G in the diagram above, ok now switch to a D chord, dang that was kind of wonky, wasn’t it…
Now use the underwater G, with pinky finger and ring finger. Try switching from the D to the G and see how much easier it is, you already have an anchor finger down and ready, so no need to entirely replace your hand. And you will be switching from G to D a lot! So if you can, practice this way
Tip 3, Changes From G to D
The most common changes are from the G are to D and C, and sometimes F. So practice these changes first. Really do them SLOWLY, if you get them right the first time you won’t have to unlearn anything and make sure all the strings ring out while doing this, and good luck!
Tip 4, Alternates
I like the sound of the G7, now it’s no B7, but it sounds good. The fingerings are slightly different for this chord as well, its index finger on the big E and middle finger on the A, and your index finger on the little E.
Dave N. Bennett
Hi, I'm Dave. I've been playing instruments since I was just a little kid. I've worked at Guitar Center and tried producing nearly every genre of music. I've graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, and now I perform locally and write and practice music. I also run this blog where I share interesting things I've learned. I hope you Enjoy my posts!
