G/B Chord on Guitar

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

G/B means “G with B in the bass”: play a G major chord and make B the lowest note. Because B is already in the chord (its major third), this is the first inversion of G.

The notes, low to high, are B, G, D. The library above opens on G/B with 14 shapes that keep B at the bottom; tap one to hear it.

Notes in G/B

Note	Degree	Interval from G	Semitones
G	1	root	0
B	3 (bass)	major third	4
D	5	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – 3 – 5. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.

How to play G/B

Open positionBeginnerx20003

Fret 3Beginnerxxx433

Fret 5Beginner755xxx

Fret 7Beginnerxx978x

Fret 12Beginnerx(14)(12)(12)xx

Open positionEasyx2x03x

Open position (bass on the 5th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 2nd fret (B, the major third).
2nd finger (middle): 1st string, 3rd fret (G, the root).
Let the 4th string, 3rd string, 2nd string ring open (D, G, B).
Strum from the 5th string, and keep the 6th string quiet.

How G/B is used

With the major third in the bass, G/B sounds lighter and less final than plain G: good in the middle of a phrase, not at its end.

In G major, C – G/B – Am walks the bass down step by step (C, B, A) while the chords on top change. Played the other way, Am – G/B – C, the bass climbs.

When a chord sheet writes G/B, play the chord on top and let B be the lowest string you strum; if you play with a bass player, the bass plays B.