How to play Gm (G Minor) on Guitar
Diagram, notes, and audio for the Gm chord on guitar. Free in your browser.
About Gm on guitar
G minor on guitar has no clean open-position voicing because every G-minor triad note (G, Bb, D) requires a fretted note somewhere on the bottom three strings. The standard fingering is a 3rd-fret barre using the E-minor shape: index finger across all six strings at the 3rd fret, ring on the 5th fret of the A string, pinky on the 5th fret of the D string. The result is a moody, full G minor.
Functionally G minor is the i chord in the key of G minor (two flats: Bb and Eb) and the iii chord in Eb major. It often appears in pop ballads in C major as the v chord (a 'borrowed' chord from C minor) for melancholy colour, and in classical and film music for the same reason — it darkens an otherwise major progression without leaving the key entirely.
Common Gm-rooted progressions include i-VI-III-VII (Gm-Eb-Bb-F), used in countless cinematic and pop tracks, and the descending Andalusian cadence i-VII-VI-V (Gm-F-Eb-D). Famous songs in or around G minor include Adele's Rolling in the Deep, Tracy Chapman's Talkin' About a Revolution, and the verse of the Game of Thrones theme — all of which lean on the chord's introspective character.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there an easy G minor chord on guitar?
- There is no full-sounding open G minor — the cleanest option is a partial 3-string voicing on the top strings, but the standard shape is a 3rd-fret barre.
- What notes are in a G minor chord?
- G, Bb, and D — the root, minor third, and perfect fifth of the G minor scale.
- Can I just play Gm7 instead?
- Yes — Gm7 (G, Bb, D, F) on the top four strings is easier than the full barre and works in most pop, soul, and jazz contexts where Gm appears.
Switch instruments
See Gm on a different instrument — same chord, new diagram.