G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (2024)

The G# Major chord is enharmonically the same as Ab Major. The G# chord does not get used as much as the Ab chord, but it does pop up from time to time, usually depending on the key of a given song.

The key of G sharp Major is a bit of a confusing one, because it contains notes such as B#, E# and Fx (F double sharp). Because of this, the key of A flat, and the chord Ab are used much more often.

None of the notes in G# can be played on the open strings of the guitar, so G# is most commonly played as a root 6 bar chord on the 4th fret.

Some Quick G# Chord Theory

  • The G# Major chord contains the notes G#, B# and D#.
  • The G# Major chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), 3rd and 5th notes of the G# Major scale.
  • The G# chord (just like all Major chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): Major 3rd, minor 3rd, Perfect 4th (back to the root note).
  • The G# chord is the first chord in the key of G sharp Major. The seven chords in the key of G# Major are: G#,A#m, B#m, C#, D#, E#m, Fx diminished.

10 Ways To Play The G# Major Chord

If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for G#, here they are.

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (1)

Standard G# Chord Shape

The most common way to play the G# chord is as a root-6 barre chord, barring the 4th fret. Because this is a barre chord, it is somewhat difficult to play and therefore not necessarily the first G# chord that guitarists learn.

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (2)

Easy G# Chord Shape

The easy version of the G# chord is essentially the open A chord shape, but moved back one fret and without any open strings. When the A chord moves down by one fret, it becomes A flat, which is the same as G sharp. Because it involves only three strings, it is a much easier shape to play than the standard barre chord shape.

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (3)

How to Play the G Sharp Major Chord (Step by Step)

  • Place your first finger on the forth fret and barre all six strings.
  • Place your third finger on the sixth fret of the fifth string.
  • Place your fourth finger on the sixth fret of the fourth string.
  • Place your second finger on the fifth fret of the third string.
  • Strum the first six strings.

The instructions above are step by step instructions for playing the most common G# Major chord shape. These instructions can actually be super helpful when you feel like you’re interpreting the shape incorrectly. By going through the G# chord instructions step by step, you can verify that you’re playing the chord correctly.

Barre Chord Shapes for G Sharp

The G# chord can be played as a barre chord by playing a root 6 barre chord shape and starting on the 4th fret or by playing a root 5 barre chord Major shape and starting on the 11th fret:

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (4)

G# Major Triads

Most of the time, when we play the G# chord, we play the standard shapes, such as the open position G# and the barre chord shapes. However, learning the strict root position and inverted triads is a great way of exploring subtle and interesting variations that exist across the fretboard. The G# Major triad can be voiced in the following three ways:

  • G Major Triad (Root Position) – G#, C#, D#
  • G# Major Triad (1st Inversion) – C#, D#, G#
  • G# Major Triad (2nd Inversion) – D#, G#, C#

Here are six different ways to play the G# Major triad (including inversions).

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (5)

Which Keys Have The G Sharp chord in Them?

The G sharp chord can be found in the following keys:

  • The key of G# Major (G#, A#m, B#m, C#, D#, E#m, Fxdim)
  • The key of D# Major (D#, E#m, Fxm, G#, A#, B#m, Cxdim)
  • The key of C# Major (C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#, A#m, B#dim)
  • The key of A# minor (A#m, B#dim, C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#)

Alternative But Useful G Sharp Chord Shapes

The following shapes are alternative ways of playing the G sharp Major chord shape. They’re not the most common G# shapes, but used enough to include here as interesting alternatives.

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (6)

G# Chord Substitutions

The G# chord can often be substituted with the G# sus 4 chord, the G# sus 2 chord and the G# add 9 chord. The G# chord can also be used itself as a substitute for more complicated chords, such as the G# Major 7 chord, the G#7 chord, and other extension chords which have G# as the root note (it can’t be used in place of minor chords though!).

Which Scales Can Be Played Over the G# chord?

The most common and effective scales that can be used to solo/improvise over the G# Major chord, or to create melodies for the purposes of song writing are:

  • G# Major pentatonic scale – This scale will almost always work over the G# Major chord, in any context.
  • G# Major scale – This is the ‘default scale’ of the G# chord.
  • G# Lydian mode – This scale can be used over the G# chord in certain contexts to add a jazz flavour.
  • G# Major Blues – This scale is particularly useful in a Blues context.

Further Reading

  • G# Major scale
  • How Major chords work
  • Chords page
  • G# Major arpeggio
  • G#/B# chord
  • G#/D# chord

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory) (2024)

FAQs

How do you cheat the G chord on A guitar? ›

For this simplified version of the G chord, you just need Finger 2 on the thickest string on Fret 3 - and let it lay slightly flat, so it mutes String 5. Finger 3 goes down on Fret 3 on the thinnest string. You've got two fingers down and one muted string.

What is the chord progression for G# major? ›

The progression is vii-VI-IV-V-VI-vii-V: F#-F-C#-D#-F-F#-D#.

Why is there no G# key? ›

Warning: The G-sharp key is a theoretical major scale key.

This means: > Its key signature would contain either double-sharps or double flats. > It is rarely used in practice, because it is too complex to use.

Is the G chord difficult? ›

No, it's a very easy chord. 3 fingers, 3 open strings, not packed together (A major is packed in, so harder in my mind to get down than G). Now every chord is somewhat hard at first until you get your muscle memory down, but G major has to be one of the easier ones.

Why is the G chord so difficult? ›

As you can see, this unusual shape requires 4 fingers to play. As a beginner guitarist you'll find this quite hard as you won't have much accuracy and control in fingers 3 & 4 yet. Let's look at some easier alternatives that you can use during the early stages of your guitar journey.

What is G# major equal to? ›

To make reading easier, G-sharp major is usually written as its enharmonic equivalent of A-flat major.

What keys are in G# major? ›

The G-sharp major scale is a seven-note scale consisting of the notes G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, and F.

What is the hardest chord to do? ›

The C#m7b5 chord is a highly complex and challenging chord to play on the guitar. It is classified as a minor seventh flat five (m7b5) chord, which consists of the root note C#, flattened third note E, diminished fifth note G, and minor seventh note B. The chord is sometimes written as C#ø7 or C#min7b5.

What chord is G#? ›

The G♯ major chord is a triad formed from a root (G♯), a major third (B♯) and a perfect fifth (D♯).

Is G# the same as AB? ›

See, G# and Ab are NOT the same note. Simply because one is an altered G note and the other is an altered A note. This is usually the moment when my audience explodes with indignation… so let me clarify that YES these two notes have the same pitch.

What key is G# in music? ›

G-sharp major is a major scale based on the musical note G sharp. Its key signature has six sharps and one double sharp. To make reading easier, G-sharp major is usually written as its enharmonic equivalent of A-flat major.

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