G minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- G A Bb C D Eb F
- Key signature
- two flats: Bb Eb
- Relative major
- Bb major
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Gm | G Bb D | |
| ii° | Adim | A C Eb | |
| III | Bb | Bb D F | |
| iv | Cm | C Eb G | |
| v | Dm | D F A | |
| VI | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| VII | F | F A C |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | Gm7 | G Bb D F | |
| iiø7 | Am7b5 | A C Eb G | |
| IIImaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Bb D F A | |
| iv7 | Cm7 | C Eb G Bb | |
| v7 | Dm7 | D F A C | |
| VImaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Eb G Bb D | |
| VII7 | F7 | F A C Eb |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, F to F#.
Common progressions in G minor
- i–iv–v straight from the natural minor scale
- i–VI–III–VII the minor pop loop
- i–iv–V with the raised-seventh V, which pulls harder back to i
On guitar
Capo 3. With a capo on fret 3, play the open shapes Em for Gm, Am for Cm, C for Eb: they sound as the i, iv, V and VI (Gm, Cm, D and Eb). D still has no open shape there; play it as a barre chord.
How the chords of G minor work
G minor uses the notes G A Bb C D Eb F, two flats: Bb Eb: the natural minor scale, the same notes as Bb major, its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i Gm, ii° Adim, III Bb, iv Cm, v Dm, VI Eb, VII F.
In practice most songs in G minor play D or D7 as the V chord instead of Dm: raising F to F# gives a note a semitone below G that pulls back to it. That raised seventh comes from the harmonic minor scale (G A Bb C D Eb F#). So a song with both F and D in it is still in G minor, and the finder counts D and D7 as belonging to this key.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative major, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.