How to Build G Minor Chords on the Guitar

Chord building is for beginning guitar players. Building chords helps you get to know the fretboard and hone your music theory skills. For G minor, you're turning a major chord into a minor chord, which usually isn't too hard, if you keep an eye on your major harmonic scale. But for the open G minor, there are a few extras to consider. Here's how to build the most common open version of a G minor chord.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Start with G major scale. The major scale is the notes you would sing for the old "do re mi..." and goes a full octave. For the key of G, it goes like this: G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G.

2. Identify your scale notes. For a major chord, you would use the first, third and fifth scale notes. For G minor, you flat your third, so that the recipe is these three notes: G, B flat and D.

3. Put your middle finger on the third fret of the bottom string of the guitar. This is your first scale note, G.

4. Skip the next two strings. You won't play the A string (second string from bottom) or the D string (third string from bottom).

5. Add your middle finger on the third fret of the G string (third string from top). This gives you the flatted third, B flat.

6. Place your ring finger on the third fret of the B string (second string from top). This is a D note, your fifth.

7. Finish with your pinkie finger on the third fret of the high E string. You're ending with another G, your first scale note.

8. Play the chord. The tricky part is to remember to mute the A and D strings. There are two main ways to do this: you can "bar" the third fret with your finger, leaving some pressure off of the A and D strings so that their notes don't sound, or if you're finger picking, you can just only pluck the four strings you're using. Either way, playing G minor may be tricky at first.

[forbes72]

on 5/4/2009 First of all, step 5 should be index finger, not middle. Second, if you move your index finger from the third fret of the G string to the first fret of the A string, you get a fuller chord, as well as no need for muting.