G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) - 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory)

The G# Major chord is enharmonically the same as Ab Major. The G# chord does not get used as much as the Ab chord, but it does pop up from time to time, usually depending on the key of a given song.

The key of G sharp Major is a bit of a confusing one, because it contains notes such as B#, E# and Fx (F double sharp). Because of this, the key of A flat, and the chord Ab are used much more often.

None of the notes in G# can be played on the open strings of the guitar, so G# is most commonly played as a root 6 bar chord on the 4th fret.

Some Quick G# Chord Theory

The G# Major chord contains the notes G#, B# and D#.
The G# Major chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), 3rd and 5th notes of the G# Major scale.
The G# chord (just like all Major chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): Major 3rd, minor 3rd, Perfect 4th (back to the root note).
The G# chord is the first chord in the key of G sharp Major. The seven chords in the key of G# Major are: G#, A#m, B#m, C#, D#, E#m, Fx diminished.

10 Ways To Play The G# Major Chord

If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for G#, here they are.

Standard G# Chord Shape

The most common way to play the G# chord is as a root-6 barre chord, barring the 4th fret. Because this is a barre chord, it is somewhat difficult to play and therefore not necessarily the first G# chord that guitarists learn.

Easy G# Chord Shape

The easy version of the G# chord is essentially the open A chord shape, but moved back one fret and without any open strings. When the A chord moves down by one fret, it becomes A flat, which is the same as G sharp. Because it involves only three strings, it is a much easier shape to play than the standard barre chord shape.

How to Play the G Sharp Major Chord (Step by Step)

Place your first finger on the forth fret and barre all six strings.
Place your third finger on the sixth fret of the fifth string.
Place your fourth finger on the sixth fret of the fourth string.
Place your second finger on the fifth fret of the third string.
Strum the first six strings.

The instructions above are step by step instructions for playing the most common G# Major chord shape. These instructions can actually be super helpful when you feel like you’re interpreting the shape incorrectly. By going through the G# chord instructions step by step, you can verify that you’re playing the chord correctly.

Barre Chord Shapes for G Sharp

The G# chord can be played as a barre chord by playing a root 6 barre chord shape and starting on the 4th fret or by playing a root 5 barre chord Major shape and starting on the 11th fret:

G# Major Triads

Most of the time, when we play the G# chord, we play the standard shapes, such as the open position G# and the barre chord shapes. However, learning the strict root position and inverted triads is a great way of exploring subtle and interesting variations that exist across the fretboard. The G# Major triad can be voiced in the following three ways:

G Major Triad (Root Position) – G#, C#, D#
G# Major Triad (1st Inversion) – C#, D#, G#
G# Major Triad (2nd Inversion) – D#, G#, C#

Here are six different ways to play the G# Major triad (including inversions).

Which Keys Have The G Sharp chord in Them?

The G sharp chord can be found in the following keys:

The key of G# Major (G#, A#m, B#m, C#, D#, E#m, Fxdim)
The key of D# Major (D#, E#m, Fxm, G#, A#, B#m, Cxdim)
The key of C# Major (C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#, A#m, B#dim)
The key of A# minor (A#m, B#dim, C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#)

Alternative But Useful G Sharp Chord Shapes

The following shapes are alternative ways of playing the G sharp Major chord shape. They’re not the most common G# shapes, but used enough to include here as interesting alternatives.

G# Chord Substitutions

The G# chord can often be substituted with the G# sus 4 chord, the G# sus 2 chord and the G# add 9 chord. The G# chord can also be used itself as a substitute for more complicated chords, such as the G# Major 7 chord, the G#7 chord, and other extension chords which have G# as the root note (it can’t be used in place of minor chords though!).

Which Scales Can Be Played Over the G# chord?

The most common and effective scales that can be used to solo/improvise over the G# Major chord, or to create melodies for the purposes of song writing are:

G# Major pentatonic scale – This scale will almost always work over the G# Major chord, in any context.
G# Major scale – This is the ‘default scale’ of the G# chord.
G# Lydian mode – This scale can be used over the G# chord in certain contexts to add a jazz flavour.
G# Major Blues – This scale is particularly useful in a Blues context.

G# Chord on the Guitar (G Sharp Major) – 10 Ways to Play (and Some Tips/Theory)