G Minor Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

G minor is a minor chord made of 3 notes: G, B♭, D. It sounds darker and more serious than a major chord, and you hear it in sad songs, ballads and most Bollywood minor-key melodies. It is the i chord of G minor and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on Gm with 14 shapes up and down the neck, starting with hand-checked ones. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in Gm

Note	Degree	Interval from G	Semitones
G	1	root	0
B♭	♭3	minor third	3
D	5	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – ♭3 – 5.

How to play Gm

E-shape barre at fret 3Medium355333

A-shape barre at fret 10Mediumx(10)(12)(12)(11)(10)

Open positionBeginner31003x

Fret 3Beginnerxx533x

Fret 10Beginnerxxx(12)(11)(10)

Fret 3Beginner3503xx

Open position (root on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 1st fret (B♭, the minor third).
2nd finger (middle): 6th string, 3rd fret (G, the root).
3rd finger (ring): 2nd string, 3rd fret (D, the fifth).
Let the 4th string, 3rd string ring open (D, G).
Strum from the 6th string, and keep the 1st string quiet (touch the muted string lightly with the finger next to it).

Tips

The open position shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 10th fret (x(10)(12)(12)(11)(10)): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with Gm

Gm belongs to 6 keys: iii in E♭ major, ii in F major, vi in B♭ major, v in C minor, iv in D minor, i in G minor. In G minor, try i–VI–III–VII: Gm – E♭ – B♭ – F.