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Your Fourth Chord: G

Intermediate7 minC, G, D and switching between them

G has a full, rich sound — all six strings ring out — and it's a regular in playing-and-singing.

Video lessons are in production — follow the notes and practice checklist below and you'll learn it just fine.
Stage 2 · More Chords & Changes7 lessons

You're on lesson 2 / 7 in this stage

Show all 7 lessons
  1. Your Third Chord: C7 min
  2. Your Fourth Chord: G7 min
  3. Your Fifth Chord: D7 min
  4. Open Chords A and E8 min
  5. The Big Chord-Change Workout9 min
  6. One-Minute Chord Changes: The Smart Way to Get Faster8 min
  7. Play Your First Pop Progression: G–D–Em–C9 min

How to fret G

Middle finger on the 3rd fret of the 6th string, index finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 1st string. The 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings in the middle are all open.

This shape stretches your fingers fairly wide, so take it slow. All six strings should ring — check them one by one.

  • 💡 Stiff, unwilling fingers are completely normal; a few more days of practice and they'll loosen up.

⚠️ Common mistakes

  • Your fingers won't spread far enough, so you miss a string or brush a neighbor — open them up slowly and check each string after you fret.
  • The ring finger can't quite reach the 3rd fret of the 1st string and mutes it — a few more days of practice and it'll loosen up.

Chords in this lesson

Tap the 🔊 under each diagram to match every chord's sound to its shape.

213

Go play these

Songs that fit this lesson's technique and chords — pick one and practice in the library:

Practice checklist

  • Hold G and pick all six strings, one at a time.
  • Release and re-fret G; repeat 10 times.