Triads
G minor chord
Darker and more melancholy than major, but just as stable.
Gm is the ii chord in F major, iii in E♭ major and vi in B♭ major. In minor keys: i in G minor and iv in D minor.
- Notes
- GB♭D
- Formula
- 1♭35
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play Gm
About the G minor chord
G minor has a brooding, restless character — Mozart chose it for some of his most dramatic music, including his 40th symphony. It’s the ii chord in F major and the relative minor of B♭.
Playing it
On guitar, Gm has an open-position shape, 310033, using four fingers alongside the open strings.
On piano, Gm has one black key (B♭) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual Gm shape is 0231, using three fingers.
Related chords
Gm shares two of its three notes with B♭ (B♭ and D), its relative major, and with E♭ (G and B♭). 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 Gm becomes a different chord: raise B♭ to B for G, add F for Gm7, swap B♭ for C for Gsus4 and lower B♭ to A for Gsus2.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find Gm in common progressions such as Gm–E♭–B♭–F (the minor-feel pop progression in B♭ major), Gm–Cm–D–Gm (the minor cadence in G minor) and Gm–F–E♭–D (the Andalusian cadence in G minor).
