How Can You Practice the G major Chord on the Piano?

Do you know which notes are in the G major chord? This article will show you three ways to play this chord on the piano.

Table of Contents

What Notes Make up the G major Chord?

The symbol for the G major chord is G.

The notes of the G chord are G – B – D.

The G chord is a triad because it has three notes: root (G), major third (B), and perfect fifth (D).

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the G major chord on the piano in root position:

You can see that the first note from the left is G (the root), the second note is B (the major third), and the third note is D (the perfect fifth).

Making the assumption that you are playing the G chord in root position the lowest note is G.

Here is how to remember the notes of the G major chord:

Start from the first note of the chord (the root) that for the G major chord is G.
To find the second note of the chord calculate a major third from the root (B).
Then to find the third note of the chord calculate the perfect fifth from the root (D).

This applies if you are playing the G major chord in root position.

The 1st inversion of the G chord starts with the note B.

The picture below shows how to play the notes of the G major chord on the piano in the first inversion:

In the 1st inversion, you shift the root of the G chord (G) up one octave compared to the root position.

The notes of the G chord in the 1st inversion are B – D – G.

The 2nd inversion of the G chord starts with the note D.

Below you can see how to play the notes of the second inversion of the G major chord on the piano:

In the 2nd inversion, you also shift the third of the G chord (B) up one octave.

The notes of the 2nd inversion of the G chord are D – G – B.

The G chord is a triad (a chord with three notes) and it doesn’t have a 3rd inversion because it would be the same as the root position.

The following articles show you how to play other G chords: