G minor chord on piano

The Gm piano chord (G minor) is three notes: G, B♭ and D. Start on G, count three half steps up to B♭, then four more to D.

  • Groot, 1
  • B♭minor 3rd, ♭3
  • Dperfect 5th, 5
G1D5B♭3

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play G minor on piano

  1. Find G, the white key between the first and second of a group of three black keys.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on G.
  3. Count three half steps up, black and white keys alike, to B♭. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count four more half steps to D for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play G an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. G1D5B♭3

    Root position

    G, B♭, D

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. D2G5B♭1

    1st inversion

    B♭, D, G

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. D1G3B♭5

    2nd inversion

    D, G, B♭

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice G minor

Hold each position of G minor for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

GDB♭
  1. Root positionG–B♭–D
  2. 1st inversionB♭–D–G
  3. 2nd inversionD–G–B♭

The shape of G minor

G minor is white, black, white: B♭ is the only black key. C minor and F minor have the same pattern.

G minor is built from the G natural minor scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. G1
  2. A2
  3. B♭3
  4. C4
  5. D5
  6. E♭6
  7. F7

Smooth changes from G minor

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of G minor's own key: Cm and D.

  • GCE♭

    From Gm to Cm, play Cm in 2nd inversion (G–C–E♭): G stays, B♭ moves up two half steps to C and D moves up a half step to E♭.

  • ADF♯

    From Gm to D, play D in 1st inversion (F♯–A–D): G moves down a half step to F♯, B♭ moves down a half step to A and D stays.

G minor on the staff and on guitar

♭
On the treble staff, G sits on the second line, B♭ on the middle line and D on the fourth line.
3fr134111GDGB♭DG
Em shape, 3rd fretFrets, low E to high E: 3 5 5 3 3 3

Keys with G minor in them

  • E♭ majoriiiE♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭, Cm, Ddim
  • F majoriiF, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm, Edim
  • B♭ majorviB♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F, Gm, Adim
  • C minorvCm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭
  • D minorivDm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C
  • G minoriGm, Adim, B♭, Cm, Dm, E♭, F

Progressions that use it

  • i–VI–III–VII, in G minor

    1. iGm
    2. VIE♭
    3. IIIB♭
    4. VIIF

  • i–iv–v, in G minor

    1. iGm
    2. ivCm
    3. vDm

  • i–VII–VI–V (Andalusian cadence), in G minor

    1. iGm
    2. VIIF
    3. VIE♭
    4. VD

  • iiø7–V7–i, in G minor

    1. iiø7Am7♭5
    2. V7D7
    3. iGm

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the G minor chord chart

G minor chord on piano keyboard, notes G B♭ D
Download the G minor chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for G minor

G minor is white, black, white: G and D are white keys and B♭ is the black key in the middle. The same shape gives you C minor and F minor.

Where it goes wrong. The middle finger reaching for B instead of B♭. B♭ is the third black key of the group of three, just left of B. Look before you press, and keep the thumb on G, between the first and second black keys of that group.

How to practice it. Play G major, then G minor: only the middle finger moves, from B down to B♭. Then practice the change to C minor in 2nd inversion (G–C–E♭): the thumb stays on G, the middle finger moves up to C and the little finger to the black E♭.

What to listen for. G minor sits comfortably in the middle of the keyboard for either hand. Play it slowly and listen for the B♭ in the middle; it is the note that makes the chord minor.

What to learn next. C minor and D major, the iv and V chords in G minor, and B♭ major, its relative major, which shares two of its notes.

Questions

What notes are in a G minor chord?

G, B♭ and D. G is the root, B♭ is a minor 3rd above it and D is a perfect 5th above it.

How is G minor different from G major?

Only the middle note changes. G major raises B♭ a half step to B; the other two notes stay.

What does Gm mean?

The small m means minor: Gm is G minor, G, B♭ and D. You may also see it written Gmin or G−.