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 4th fret (466544). While you build strength, you can play just the top four strings of the same shape (xx6544).

On piano, G♯ has two black keys (G♯ and D♯) and one white key.

On ukulele the usual G♯ shape is 1343, 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 A♭–E♭–Fm–D♭ (the pop progression in A♭ major), A♭–D♭–E♭–D♭ (three-chord rock in A♭ major) and A♭–Fm–D♭–E♭ (the ’50s progression in A♭ major).

Notice the B♯ in G♯ (G♯ B♯ D♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (G–B–D), so the major 3rd has to be written B♯ rather than C — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.