How to Play the Gm chord on Guitar

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• The problem with the Gm chord
• How to play a G minor chord
• Moveable form: Gm barre chord
• The easiest Gm chord voicing
• Related lessons & courses

    This is a barre chord that requires you to fret all 6 strings with the first finger. This makes the Gm chord a little tricky, but with a little patience, you can master it.

    Here are a few tips to help you master this tricky fingering faster:

• In the beginning, form the fingering shape slowly. Speed will come later.
• Decide on the order with which you will place your fingers. For example, you can always start with fingers 3-4, and then place the 1st finger to form the barre. You could also start with the barre instead.
• Be consistent with the decided order. After you build muscle memory, forming the chord will happen automatically and almost instantly. But the muscle memory building process will take a lot longer if you do this differently every time.
• Place your 1st finger very close to the metal fret. This makes it easier to execute without buzzing. But don't play completely over the fret wire because that will produce a muted sound.

    A note on "bar chords": The traditional spelling is "barre", but many times you will see it spelled as "bar". So a "Gm bar chord" and a "Gm barre chord" are actually the same thing. Don't let that throw you off 😉.

    The above Gm chord is already a moveable barre chord. But if you want an extra barre fingering based on the 5th string, higher up the fretboard, then try the option below:

    To use moveable chords effectively, you need to locate the notes on the fretboard really fast. I highly recommend that you get Fretboard Memorization Toolbox. It's a free mini-course that includes fun drills and musical challenges that will help you master the fretboard very quickly.

    Guitar players love shortcuts. A shortcut for easily playing a G minor chord on the guitar, without the trouble of the full barre, is to use the minimal voicing in the diagram below.

    This voicing doesn't have a G as the lowest note. This means that it works perfectly if you are playing along to a band, where other instruments (usually the bass) take care of the low G.

     But if you are playing on your own, keep in mind that this fingering produces a thinner chord. In some songs that can be a problem. But it will still sound great in most cases and it includes all of the chord degrees (it has a G as the top note). Plus it's extremely easy to play on the guitar!

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