How To Play The G Chord For Guitar | Grow Guitar (2024)

When it comes to playing guitar, there are a couple of chords almost everyone learns right away. The C chord, D, chord, and G chord. They are usually the easiest for a new guitarist to make the shapes with their fingers. They also play well together when strumming for fun.

How To Play The G Chord

There are several different ways you can play a G chord on your guitar. We'll go over several versions of the chord in today's lesson.

Let's start with the most common version you will find; the open G chord.

The Open G

This is the simplest way to play the G chord and usually the first way we learn to play it.

• index finger (1) fretting the B note on the A string at the 2nd fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the root G note on the low E string at the 3rd fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the G note on the high e string at the 3rd fret
• play the middle D, G, and B strings open

Open G Variation

The only difference between this and the one above is the addition of another D note on the B string. It just gives the chord a fuller sound and makes some transitions easier.

• index finger (1) fretting the C note on the B string at the 1st fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the A note on the G string at the 2nd fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the C note on the A string at the 3rd fret
• pinky finger (4) fretting the root F note on the D string at the 3rd fret
• mute the low E and high e strings

G Barre Chord (E Shape Barre Chord)

Let's add in a slightly more advanced chord, but one that will help you expand your range of playing. This is how to play a G barre chord.

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings on the 3rd fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the B note on the G string at the 4th fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the D note on the A string at the 5th fret
• pinky finger (4) fretting the root G note on the D string at the 5th fret
• let the other strings ring

G Chord (F Shape Barre Chord)

The nice part about barre chords is once you learn the shape, you can move them up and down the neck to play any chord you want.

• index finger (1) barred across the B and high e strings on the 3rd fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the B note on the G string at the 4th fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the root G note on the D string at the 5th fret
• mute the low E and A strings

G Chord (C Shape Barre Chord)

Like the E shape and F shape barre chords above, the C shape is also moveable. This one takes a little more finger strength and flexibility, but once you master it, you will be a much more versatile player.

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings strings on the 7th fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the root G note on the B string at the 8th fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the B note on the D string at the 9th fret
• pinky finger (4) fretting the root G note on the A string at the 10th fret
• mute the low E string

The Theory Behind It

To initially build a G chord, you do so by taking notes from the G major scale. Those notes are the I, III, and V, or G, B, and D. This is known as a major triad.

The G major scale looks like this:

Using the major triad formula mentioned above (I, III, V) we can deduce that an G chord is made up of:

• the root note (I) G
• the 3rd (III) B
• the 5th (V) note D

Complementary Chords

Key scales are what we build music around. And just like we used the notes of the G major scale to build our chord, we can use the G Major Chord Scale to build a chord progression.

A standard Major Chord Scale looks like this:

The way this is read is:

• I is major 1st
• ii is minor 2nd
• iii is minor 3rd
• IV is major 4th
• V is major (or perfect) 5th
• vi is minor 6th
• vii° is minor 7th diminished

The G Major Chord Scale looks like this:

Note: Anytime you see the scale numbers in lower case (eg: vi Vs VI) it means you play a minor version of that chord. Additionally, whenever you see the degree symbol (°) that means the chord is diminished.

So your chords in the G major scale would be:

• G (I)
• Am (ii)
• Bm (iii)
• C (IV)
• D (V)
• Em (iv)
• F#dim (vii°)

Practice Progression

It's only so much fun to play a single chord before it starts to get old. Using the chord scale above we can make our own chord progressions.

The progression we chose is made up of I - iii - IV - V or G - Bm - C - D. Try strumming, fingerpicking, and flat picking the chords in this progression. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Then try out some other progressions of your own.

The way you would play the above chord progression is:

A Couple More Variations

If you want to add a little extra flavor to your G chord, you can play some of these variations.

The first one is G7:

This chord has a similar stretch as an open C chord.

• index finger (1) on the F# note of the high e string at the 1st fret
• middle finger (2) fretting the B note on the A string at the 2nd fret
• ring finger (3) fretting the root G note on the low E string at the 3rd fret
• play the middle D, G, and B strings open

The next one is Gm:

This one is very similar to the E shape G barre chord above. You just use an Em shape instead.

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings at the 3rd fret
• ring finger (3) on the D note on the A string at the 5th fret
• pinky finger (4) on the root G note on the D string at the 5th fret

Finally, we have Gm7:

Maybe the easiest barre chord of them all. You just need 2 fingers for this one!

• index finger (1) barred across all 6 strings at the 3rd fret
• ring finger (3) on the D note on the A string at the 5th fret

Songs That Have The G Chord

If the song is in the key of G, there's a more than great chance it has a G chord in it somewhere. There are a ton of songs, across many genres, that have a G chord. Here's a short list of a few popular ones.

• As Tears Go By by The Rolling Stones
• Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
• Creep by Radiohead
• Cum On Feel The Noize by Quiet Riot
• Drunk by Ed Sheeran
• Eternal Flame by The Bangles
• Fast In My Car by Paramore
• Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Good Riddance Time Of Your Life by Green Day
• I'm A Believer by The Monkees
• Knockin' On Heavens Door by Bob Dylan
• Leaving On A Jet Plane by John Denver
• Me And Bobby Mcgee by Janis Joplin
• Redemption Song by Bob Marley
• Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash
• Take It Easy by Eagles
• Whiskey In The Jar by Thin Lizzy
• Yellow Submarine by The Beatles
• You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC

Final Word

The G chord is one of those "cowboy chords" that we learn to strum almost right away. Now you know how it is built and how to find it anywhere on your guitar neck. You can also figure out what chords will go best with it when writing your own songs.

Happy playing!

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