How To Play G Chord Guitar (2024)

The G chord is one of the most common guitar chords in modern music.

It’s one of the first chords many guitarists learn.

But it’s also quite difficult to learn. This is because you have to stretch your hand to reach frets on strings 1 and 6.

This article tells you everything you need to know about the G chord on guitar, including a really easy way to play it.

🎸Guitar chord charts

To understand this article you might need to read our lesson on how to read guitar chord charts. If you’re new to playing guitar, check out our other free guitar lessons.

The Easiest Way to Play the G Chord on Guitar

Here’s how you normally play the G chord on guitar. This is sometimes known as the open G chord because it uses open strings:

Put finger 2 on string 6, fret 3
Put finger 1 on string 5, fret 2
Put finger 4 on string 1, fret 3
Strum all strings

The problem is, stretching your hand to the first string is hard for beginners. And many new guitarists struggle to use finger 4.

An easier way to play the G chord on guitar is:

Put finger 2 on string 6, fret 3
Rest the same finger gently against string 2 so it doesn’t make a noise (this is called muting)
Strum all strings except string 1

Easy eh?

This is a great way to start playing the G guitar chord. You can add the notes on string 5 and then on string 1 as you get better at stretching and finger 4 becomes stronger.

What are the G Chord Notes?

This article mainly focuses on the G major chord.

A major chord consists of at least three notes from the major scale:

Note 1 (the root note)
The 3rd note (The major 3rd)
The 5th note (The perfect 5th)

For the G chord that’s G, B and D.

Here’s what the G major scale looks like:

Other Places to Play the G Major Chord

There are several places that you can play the G chord across the fretboard. In fact, you can play it anywhere there is a G note.

The G power chord

Power chords are sometimes known as 5th chords. They only use a root note and 5th note in the scale.

They use the same shape across strings 6, 5 and 4 which makes them useful.

There are two main places to play the G power chord:

G power chord on string 6

Put your first finger on string 6, fret 3
Put your 3rd finger on string 5, fret 5
Rest your third finger against string 4 to make sure you don’t accidentally play it
Strum strings 6 and 5

G power chord on string 5

Put your first finger on string 5, fret 10
Put your third finger on string 4, fret 12
Rest your third finger against string 4 so you don’t accidentally play it
Strum strings 5 and 4

How to play the G chord Full E-shape

Imagine how you play an open E chord. This shape can be used across the guitar.

How? Put the side of your first finger across all six strings ( this might require a lot of practice). This is called a barre. Chords that use them are called barre chords.

Now imagine this is the nut (the end of the guitar neck). Now form the G chord under your index finger.

Here’s how to do this for a G chord:

Put the side of finger one across all strings on fret 3.
Put finger 3 on string 5, fret 5
Finger 4 goes on string 4, fret 5
Put finger 2 on string 3, fret 4
Strum all strings

Using a barre and all four fingers in this way makes this a tough G chord to play.

How to play the G chord using the small E-shape

If the G chord above is too difficult for you to play then you may wish just to play strings 1, 2, 3 and 4.

How to play the G chord using an A shape

This G chord is the same shape as an open A.

It is played from the same root note as the G power chord on the 5th string. The difference is that your third finger forms a barre across strings 4,3 and 2.

This might be quite difficult for beginners. Another way to play it is to put fingers 3 and 4 on strings 4 and 3, fret 10 and mute string 2.

D-shape G chord

This version of the G chord uses the shape of an open D chord but with a G root note. Playing it is difficult because you must stretch your fingers across four frets.

Put finger one on string 4, fret 5
Put finger three on string 3, fret 7
Put finger four on string 2, fret 8

If you’re feeling really brave then you can play string 2, fret 8 with finger 4 and put finger 3 on string 1, fret 7.

This is the full version of this G chord, but it’s very difficult to play!

Popular G Chord Guitar Variations

So far, this article has only explained how to play the G major chord.

But there are lots of other versions of the G chord on guitar that provide a different tonality.

For example, while the G major chord has a happy sound, G minor sounds sad. G major 7 on the other hand, sounds jazzy and relaxing.

How to Play G Minor

G minor is played using the same notes as the G major chord. The only difference is that the B is dropped to a B♭ – that’s one fret lower.

Playing an open version of G minor is difficult because you have to mute the open B.

The easiest way to play G minor is to play it like you would an F minor – as a “half E” shape.

G minor half E-shape

You may find it easier to play G minor as a half E-shape. Once again, you need to change the B to a B♭. Here’s how it should look:

Use finger 1 to form a barre across strings 1, 2 and 3 at fret 3
Put finger 3 or 4 on string 4, fret 5
Strum the first 4 strings

G minor full E-shape

As your hands get stronger you might want to try the full version of G minor.

Use finger 1 to create a barre across all strings on fret 8
Put finger 3 on string 5, fret 10
Put finger 4 on string 4, fret 10

G minor A-shape

This involves playing the A-shaped G barre chord but with the B dropped to a B♭.

Put finger 1 on string 5, fret 10
Put finger 3 on string 4, fret 12
Put finger 4 on string 3, fret 12
Put finger 2 on string 2, fret 11

G Major 7 Chord

G major 7 or Gmaj7 is a rich, warm-sounding G chord. It’s also quite easy. Play an open G major chord and move the G note on the 1st string down one fret to become a G♭.

It’s called Gmaj7 because you are adding the 7th note in the G major scale to the G guitar chord.

G7 Chord

G7 chord is also relatively easy. Simply play the open G major chord and move the G note on the 1st string down two frets to become an F.

It’s sometimes called G dominant 7 chord and involves adding the 7th note from the G major scale and flattening it (making it one note lower).

Gsus2 Chord

Gsus2 sounds complicated. But it’s just a case of turning the B note into an A. Gsus2 is a nice rich chord, with an ‘open’ sound.

The easiest way to do this by playing the A-shape version of G major chord but putting your fingers in slightly different places.

Put finger 1 across the 10th fret on strings 5,4,3 and 2
Put finger 3 on string 4, fret 12
Put finger 2 on string 3, fret 12
Strum strings 5, 4, 3 and 2

Popular Guitar Songs That Use the G Chord

There are hundreds of thousands of songs and guitar riffs that use the G chord on guitar. Here are just a few well-known guitar songs that use it.

Radiohead – Creep
Green Day – Good Riddance Time Of Your Life
Bob Dylan – Knockin On Heavens Door
The Beatles – Love Me Do
Thin Lizzy – Whiskey In The Jar
The Kooks – She Moves in Her Own Way

Discover Another Major Chord With Guitarist 101

In This article we’ve explained everything you need to know about the G major chord on guitar. But the G chord isn’t the only one that you might have difficulty playing.

If you want more help check out our other articles on beginner guitar chords:

How to play C chord guitar
How to play B chord
How to play B7 chord
How to play F chord