Triads
G♭ major chord
Bright, stable and resolved — the foundation of most songs.
G♭ is the I chord in F♯ major, IV in D♭ major and V in B major. In minor keys: III in E♭ minor, V in B minor, VI in B♭ minor and VII in G♯ minor.
- Notes
- G♭B♭D♭
- Formula
- 135
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play G♭
About the G♭ major chord
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play G♭ on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 2nd fret (244322). While you build strength, you can play just the top four strings of the same shape (xx4322).
On piano, every note of G♭ is a black key.
On ukulele the usual G♭ shape is 3121, using four fingers.
Related chords
G♭ shares two of its three notes with E♭m (G♭ and B♭), its relative minor, and with B♭m (B♭ and D♭). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and G♭ becomes a different chord: lower B♭ to B𝄫 for G♭m, add F♭ for G♭7, add F for G♭maj7 and raise B♭ to C♭ for G♭sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find G♭ in common progressions such as F♯–C♯–D♯m–B (the pop progression in F♯ major), F♯–B–C♯–B (three-chord rock in F♯ major) and F♯–D♯m–B–C♯ (the ’50s progression in F♯ major).
