Chords in the Key of G# Minor

Diatonic triads

Seventh chords

Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.

Common progressions in G# minor

• i–VI–III–VII

  G#m – E – B – F#

  The minor pop loop — same four chords as the major axis, started from the minor side.

• i–iv–v

  G#m – C#m – D#m

  The minor blues shape — all three chords stay minor in the natural scale.

• i–VII–VI

  G#m – F# – E

  The descending rock lament, one whole step at a time.

• i–iv–VII–III

  G#m – C#m – F# – B

  A circle-of-fifths descent — each root falls a fifth to the next.

How the key of G# minor works

G# Minor carries five sharps (F#, C#, G#, D# and A#). The scale runs G#–A#–B–C#–D#–E–F#, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.

B Major is the relative major: identical key signature, identical seven chords. Treat B — the III chord here — as home base and you are in B major without changing a note.

The parallel major, Ab Major (listed here in its enharmonic spelling), keeps the same root but raises the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to four flats (Bb, Eb, Ab and Db). Moving a section from minor to parallel major is one of the oldest brightness tricks in songwriting.

Playing G# minor on guitar

In G# minor, E is an open chord you can play in first position. G#m, B, C#m, D#m and F# need a barre shape or a capo. The diminished A#dim is usually played as a small three-string shape rather than a full chord.

A capo is the shortcut. With one, the i–VI–III–VII progression (G#m – E – B – F#) sounds in G# minor while you finger open shapes:

• Capo 4 · play it as E minor

  Em – C – G – D

  4 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 2 · play it as F# minor

  F#m – D – A – E

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

• Capo 9 · play it as B minor

  Bm – G – D – A

  3 of 4 shapes are open chords.

Work out a capo for any song's chords

Where G# minor sits on the neck

The root, G#, is fret 4 on the low E string and fret 11 on the A string, the two places most minor barre shapes and scale positions in G# minor are built from.

Three open strings are in the key: low E, B and high E. Watch the open A (fret 1 gives A#), the open D (fret 1 gives D#) and the open G (fret 1 gives G#).

One note separates G# minor from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise E to E# and you are in D# minor; lower A# to A and you are in C# minor. Those are the two keys a song in G# minor most often modulates to.

Keep practicing

• Practice the G# minor scale on the fretboard
• Jam these progressions over a backing track
• Transpose a song into or out of G# minor