Minor key
G sharp minor
Its seven chords: G♯m, A♯dim, B, C♯m, D♯m, E, F♯.
- G♯1
- A♯2
- B3
- C♯4
- D♯5
- E6
- F♯7
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord | Notes of the seventh chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 G♯ | i G♯m | i7 G♯m7 | G♯ B D♯ F♯ |
| 2 A♯ | ii° A♯dim | iiø7 A♯m7♭5 | A♯ C♯ E G♯ |
| 3 B | III B | IIImaj7 Bmaj7 | B D♯ F♯ A♯ |
| 4 C♯ | iv C♯m | iv7 C♯m7 | C♯ E G♯ B |
| 5 D♯ | v D♯m | v7 D♯m7 | D♯ F♯ A♯ C♯ |
| 6 E | VI E | VImaj7 Emaj7 | E G♯ B D♯ |
| 7 F♯ | VII F♯ | VII7 F♯7 | F♯ A♯ C♯ E |
| Harmonic minor | V D♯ | D♯ F𝄪 A♯ | |
| Harmonic minor | V7 D♯7 | D♯ F𝄪 A♯ C♯ | |
| Harmonic minor | vii°7 F𝄪dim7 | F𝄪 A♯ C♯ E | |
- i–iv–V–i
- G♯m
- C♯m
- D♯
- G♯m
- i–VI–III–VII
- G♯m
- E
- B
- F♯
- i–VII–VI–V
- G♯m
- F♯
- E
- D♯
- ii°–V7–i
- A♯dim
- D♯7
- G♯m
About G sharp minor
The scale of G sharp minor runs G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯, and the key has 5♯ in the signature (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯). Those seven notes are the raw material of everything on this page: each chord below is stacked from them alone, which is why the chords of G sharp minor fit together so naturally.
In G sharp minor you will mostly hear G♯m, C♯m and D♯. The natural minor scale would make the fifth chord minor, but players nearly always raise the seventh note to F𝄪, which turns it into D♯ (or D♯7 with a seventh) and gives the key its strong pull home.
G sharp minor shares every note with B major, its relative key, so the two have the same signature and the same seven chords. If the chords of a piece fit both lists, listen for the chord it starts and ends on to decide which key you are in. Not to be confused with A flat major, the parallel key on the same home note.
Minor keys have three common forms of their scale: natural, harmonic (with the raised seventh, F𝄪) and melodic. The table shows the natural chords and, below them, the chords borrowed from the harmonic form: D♯, D♯7 and the diminished seventh.
Barre chords make G sharp minor harder on guitar, but a capo on fret 4 turns the chords into the easy shapes Em, G, Am, Bm, C, D, which is how many guitarists play in this key.
A good way to learn G sharp minor: play the chords up the scale, then pick two progressions from this page and loop them for a few minutes with a metronome, first at 60 BPM, then faster.