Chords in the Key of G# Minor

What are the chords in G# minor?

Take the G# minor scale — G# A# B C# D# E F# — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• G#m — i, minor, built on G#
• A#dim — ii°, diminished, built on A#
• B — III, major, built on B
• C#m — iv, minor, built on C#
• D#m — v, minor, built on D#
• E — VI, major, built on E
• F# — VII, major, built on F#

The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

G#m, C#m and D#m — the i, iv and v — carry most songs in G# minor. Add E (the VI) and F# (the VII) for the classic minor-key turnaround.

• Bittersweet Loop — 6m–4–1–5 — G#m – E – B – F#. Heard in Zombie, Numb.
• Andalusian Cadence — 6m–5–4–3 — G#m – F# – E – D#. Heard in Hit the Road Jack, Stray Cat Strut.
• Dorian Vamp — 6m–2 — G#m – C#. Heard in Oye Como Va, Evil Ways.

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of G# minor: G#m7, A#m7♭5, Bmaj7, C#m7, D#m7, Emaj7, F#7. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The v as a dominant seventh (D#m7) is the one that pulls hardest back to G#m.

G# minor and B major share every chord

B major uses the same seven notes as G# minor, so it has the same seven chords — the relative major. What changes is which chord is home: G#m in G# minor, B in B major. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of B major, with their own numerals
• The G# minor scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of G# minor

1. Play G#m – C#m – D#m – G#m slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of G# minor fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.