The G major chord contains G, B and D. Its formula is 1–3–5: a major third and a perfect fifth above G.
The G major chord contains G, B and D. Its formula is 1–3–5: a major third and a perfect fifth above G. The displayed root-position example is G4–B4–D5. Numbers after note letters identify octaves, not fingers. Use the diagram, note list and bass label together; Play chord sounds the selected notes together, while the note-by-note control sounds them from low to high.
The G major chord and the G major scale are different things. F-sharp belongs to the scale, but it is not one of the three chord tones. The triad shown here therefore uses only white keys. Adding F-sharp would change the three-note object being studied. Measured above G, B is four semitones away and D is seven. The interval formula describes the chord from its root, not the distances between every pair of currently adjacent keys. In G/B, G is still the root even though B is the lowest sounding note.
Read each bass note before selecting a position. The root-position example starts with G; first inversion starts with B; second inversion starts with D. The chord tones stay the same. These are independently chosen reference registers, not an ascending exercise. Switching a position must update the selected note order, diagram, sound and current-print snapshot together. Hand numbers, when available, apply only to the root example.
| Position | Symbol | Notes, low to high | Bass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position, current selection | G | G4–B4–D5 | G4 |
| First inversion | G/B | B4–D5–G5 | B4 |
| Second inversion | G/D | D4–G4–B4 | D4 |
These are separate one-hand starting examples for the root-position voicing. Change to an inversion and the finger numbers are intentionally withheld.
Separate right-hand example for the displayed root-position voicing G4–B4–D5. The source supplies these chord-tone and hand-number pairings, not this octave placement. This is a starting example, not a universal rule; no fingering is assigned to the inversions.
Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom / University of Puget Sound
Supports: Triad construction, major/minor intervals.
Scope: General rule; exact PianoGrid registers, diagrams, exercises and explanations are original applications.
Open Music Theory
Supports: Chord quality, chord members, inversion and lead-sheet conventions.
Scope: Not a source for our hand-specific fingerings or recordings.
Open Music Theory
Supports: Written note letters and octave numbering.
Scope: Cb4 = MIDI 59 is a derived application of the notation rule, not a quotation of a PianoGrid example.
Skoove
Supports: Root-position G–B–D; right hand 1–3–5 and left hand 5–3–1.
Scope: The root-position hand numbers are shown by the source. It does not specify PianoGrid’s G4–B4–D5 register. We do not adopt song lists, mood labels or inversion fingerings.
Common names: G, G major, Gmaj.
Intervals from the root: perfect unison, major third, perfect fifth.
Keep G and D unchanged. G major uses B; G minor uses B-flat. Only the third changes, so the root name alone is not enough to identify the chord.
For a written comparison, use G4–B4–D5 and G4–B♭4–D5. Keep G and D in place and lower B by one semitone.
Compare the G minor chord with B♭ in place of B.In the key of C major, G major is the chord built on scale degree 5. The same G–B–D chord can also appear in other keys; its identity does not determine the key of an entire song.
Compare C4–E4–G4 with B3–D4–G4. The second voicing is G/B. G4 can remain in place while C4 moves to B3 and E4 moves to D4. These are exact written examples, not a claim that this is the only or best fingering.
Name the three chord tones before looking back at the answer. Then name the bass of the first inversion. These are written self-checks, not additional scored modes.
No. The triad is G–B–D. F-sharp belongs to the G major scale, not to this three-note chord.
Play a G major chord with B as its lowest sounding note. The slash identifies the bass; the chord root stays G.
No. G major contains B, whereas G minor contains B-flat. Both retain G and D.
The reference uses D4–G4–B4 to show second inversion. Inversion describes the lowest chord member, not a requirement that each example be higher than the last.
It checks the set G, B and D. It does not grade your hands, timing, articulation or an acoustic piano performance.
Select the three pitch classes that make G major, then check your answer.
This keyboard checks an unordered pitch-class set. Order, octave, fingering and live piano performance are not assessed.
One octave, C through B. Select a key again to remove it.
Chord tones: G–B–D · Formula: 1, 3, 5
Dots mark the notes to play. C4 is middle C. Numbers identify octaves, not fingers.