Piano chord · Major triad · Beginner
G major piano chord (G)
G, B and D, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in G: G, B and D
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| G | Root | G4 · white key |
| B | Major 3rd | B4 · white key |
| D | Perfect 5th | D5 · white key |
- Chord symbol: G — G major
- Formula: R · 3 · 5 (0 · 4 · 7 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-3-5 — thumb, middle finger and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-1, little finger on the root
How G works
G major is the V chord of C major and the tonic of the key with one sharp, so it appears in nearly every early piece. All three notes are white and the stack is the same 1-3-5 as C major, moved up a fifth.
G inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then two inversions.
Root position
G–B–D — the root, G, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — B in the bass
B–D–G — the same three notes, reordered so B is lowest.
2nd inversion — D in the bass
D–G–B — the same three notes, reordered so D is lowest.
Common mistakes on G
- Reading the spacing rather than the letters and playing G–C–E.
- Letting finger 5 sag on D so the top note disappears.
- Starting on F♯ out of habit from the G major scale instead of on G.
Piano chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.