How to play G Major chord for beginners on Guitar

Play g chord guitar for beginners

One of the most played open chords on the guitar is the G major chord. To play g chord guitar for beginners (open chords), it’s a easy process as all we have to do is place our fingers to hold down this chord.

G Major chord (aka G chord) is played in a variety of styles to add different flavours to the song. This is another widely used chord in many songs and you can play thousands of songs just by mastering this chord.

So, let us try to play this chord in 3 simple steps:

How to play the G major chord on Guitar easily

• Step 1: Stretch out your middle finger and press the 6^th string at the 3^rd fret.
• Step 2: Press the 5^th string at the 2^nd fret with your index finger.
• Step 3: Fold your ring finger to enable it to press the 1^st string at the 3^rd fret. The 4^th, 3^rd and 2^nd strings are open.

If you’re holding it right, it should look like this:

Now, with your strumming hand, strike all the 6 strings. Now, you have just played the G major chord in the open position. Practice this G major chord with a few down strokes while holding this chord.

At first, it may be tough to hold these strings with your fingers. The ring finger may not press the 1^st string correctly. A lot of patience and practice can correct this.

Alternate finger placement for G major chord (open position)

• Step 1: Stretch out your ring finger and press the 6^th string at the 3^rd fret.
• Step 2: Press the 5^th string at the 2^nd fret with your middle finger.
• Step 3: Pull back your little finger (pinkie) and hold down the 1^st string at the 3^rd fret. Just like the previous chord shape, leave the 4^th, 3^rd and 2^nd strings open.

Now, your fingers should be placed on the fretboard like the image below:

This is exactly the same chord we played before. The only difference is the fingers used to hold down the notes. This chord shape may not be user friendly. The little finger may hurt a lot. So, use this chord shape sparingly!

Even though the finger placement used here is much tougher than the previous one, it’s always good to know alternate fingerings used for the same chord in case we need to shift our fingers to hold another chord shape faster.

Here’s another finger placement which uses all four fingers of the fretting hand:

Playing G major chord using 4 fingers

• Step 1: Stretch out your middle finger and press the 6^th string at the 3^rd fret.
• Step 2: Press the 5^th string at the 2^nd fret with your index finger.
• Step 3: Fold your ring finger to enable it to press the 2^nd string at the 3^rd fret. Now, the 4^th and 3^rd strings are left open.
• Step 4: Force your little finger behind the ring ringer to press the 1^st string at the 3^rd fret.

Do check if your fingers are placed on the fretboard like this:

This chord shape is a very commonly used chord shape. It is easy to shift to other open chords like Cadd9, Dsus4 and Em7, where the ring and little fingers can stay at the same spot without moving at all.

Speaking of other open chords, here are some of the most frequently played open chords along with the G major chord:

• A minor
• C major / C major add 9
• D major / D suspended 4th
• E minor / E minor 7th

All these chords sound wonderful when played with the G major chord. They are also the related chords in the key of G major. Read more about the G major related chords.

Now, let’s see how to hold the G major as a barre chord:

Barre chord version of G major chord

• Step 1: First, keep your ring and little fingers scrunched together and press the 5^th and 4^th strings at the 5^th fret
• Step 2: Next, add your middle finger. Press the 4^th string at the 4^th fret.
• Step 3: Finally, bring your pointer forward, and press all the strings at the 3^rd fret.

Adjust your fingers to fit them all within the frets, like this:

Try to flatten the index finger as much as possible. It’s okay if this finger goes outside the fretboard. Just make sure you can feel the 6^th, 2^nd and 1^st strings.

Open vs. Barre G major chord: which is better?

Both versions of the G major chord, open and barred sound great! It all depends on the other chords played with these chords. Most times, the open G major chord is used since it is simple, easy to shift and sounds best with other open chords like C major, D major, E minor, etc.

The finger placement for the barred G major chord is also used if other barre chords are played, mostly in A major shape or sometimes in D major shape. The major advantage of using barre is the fact that it can be easily transposed to different keys. But the barre shape is very hard on our fingers, and it pains a lot!

The open position G major chord is the very first chord shape that comes to mind for everyone, including experts and advanced players. Moreover, the open position is the most played version. Therefore, it is advised for beginners to play the G major chord in the open position.

Songs that use the G major and related chords

Tamil songs

1. Nee Kavithaigala – Maragatha Nanayam
2. Eley Keechan – Kadal
3. Un Vizhigalil – Maan Karathe

English songs

1. Knocking On Heaven’s Door – Guns N’ Roses
2. Hard Day’s Night – Beatles
3. Good Riddance – Green Day
4. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Telugu songs

1. O Rendu Prema Meghaalila – Baby
2. Aradhya – Kushi
3. Ye Mantramo – Andala Rakshasi

Hindi songs

1. Jawani Janeman – Namak Halal
2. Badi Sooni Sooni Hai – Mili
3. Allah Ke Bande – Kailash Kher, Vishal Dadlani

Theory behind the G major chord in music

The G major chord, like any other major chord is basically made of 3 notes take from the major scale. The G major scale has the following notes: G, A, B, C, D, E and F#. The 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th notes in this scale create the basic three note chord, known as a triad.

Based on this theory, the triad in the G major chord has the notes G, B and D. Hold the G major chord in the open position. Two of these notes are already held by our fingers on the 6^th string at the 3^rd fret (G) and the 5^th string at the 2^nd fret (B). The 4^th string is left open, which is the 3^rd note in the triad (D). The other notes we hear are just a repetition of the same 3 notes; they just sound higher in pitch.

No matter what position of the G major chord you hold on the guitar, whether it is the open position one or the barre chord, you’ll always find these three notes (G, B and D) held down by your fingers either in a higher or lower pitch.

Common mistakes when holding the G major chord

1. Fingers holding the 6^th and 5^th strings touches the other open strings

Whenever we hold the G chord in the open position, we have to arch or bend our fingers so that the other open strings in-between are not touched by our fingers (especially the ones holding the 6^th and 5^th strings). Otherwise, we would wind up muting those strings and they will not sound clear. We will hear a ‘buzzy’ sound.

2. Finger holding the 1^st string touches the open 2^nd string

This happens more often than we’d like to admit. At times, the ring finger holding down the 1^st string can accidentally mute the open 2^nd string. This can also result in a muted sound and makes the open G chord sound incomplete when we can’t hear that B string.

3. Strings held down are muted or let go when trying not to mute the open strings

By being too cautious not to mute the open strings, we tend to mute the strings we want to be heard. We may even let go of the strings on which we want our fingers to be placed firmly. Such mistakes are also to be taken care of when we practice.

Tips to transition smoothly between chords

Try switching between the G major chord and any of the other related chords and back again. Remember to place all your fingers at the same time for each of the chords.

When you switch between two or more chords, focus on placing the fingers from the lowest/thickest string to the highest/thinnest one. This is the fastest and neatest way to shift between chords while strumming continuously.

Right method to practise chords

All these chords sound best when strummed beautifully with the help of a couple of great sounding strumming patterns. Explore various types of strumming patterns for open chords.

Always practice with a metronome set to a really low tempo (like 40-50 BPM) until you can easily switch between the chords. Later, you may slowly keep increasing the tempo by 5 BPM until you can play at around 100 BPM without muting the strings.

If you are looking for a qualified Guitar teacher, you can try a free trial class with a musicmaster. Click on this link to book a FREE GUITAR TRIAL CLASS.

Learn to play the following beginner chords:

1. C Major Chord
2. D Major Chord
3. E Major Chord
4. A Major Chord
5. E Minor Chord
6. A Minor Chord
7. D Minor Chord
8. F Major Chord
9. B Minor Chord