G-sharp Piano Chords
Here we can explore every chord built on G-sharp, the middle black key of each group of three. The root stays the same from chord to chord; what changes is the distance from G-sharp to the notes stacked above it, and that is what gives each chord its own quality and unique sound. Because G-sharp is a black key, the right thumb and the left 5th finger start on a black key in root position, so the hand sits further in toward the fallboard than it does for chords built on white keys. G-sharp and A-flat are the same key on the piano. The chords here are spelled from G-sharp; A-flat piano chords spells the same sounds the other way, and which name a chord takes depends on the key it appears in.
The 9 chords built on G-sharp
Triads built on G-sharp
Four triads can be built on G-sharp. Each is three notes stacked in thirds, and they differ only in their third and fifth:
- G-sharp major (G♯): G-sharp, B-sharp, D-sharp
- G-sharp minor (G♯m): G-sharp, B, D-sharp, with the third lowered to B
- G-sharp diminished (G♯°): G-sharp, B, D, with the fifth lowered as well, to D
- G-sharp augmented (G♯+): G-sharp, B-sharp, D-double-sharp, with the fifth of the major chord raised to D-double-sharp
Try playing them in that order and listening to how a single changed note changes the sound of the whole chord.
Seventh chords built on G-sharp
Adding a seventh on top of a triad gives the five seventh chords built on G-sharp:
- G-sharp dominant 7th (G♯7): the major triad with a minor seventh, G-sharp, B-sharp, D-sharp, F-sharp
- G-sharp major 7th (G♯maj7): the major triad with a major seventh, G-sharp, B-sharp, D-sharp, F-double-sharp
- G-sharp minor 7th (G♯m7): the minor triad with a minor seventh, G-sharp, B, D-sharp, F-sharp
- G-sharp half-diminished 7th (G♯ø7): the diminished triad with a minor seventh, G-sharp, B, D, F-sharp
- G-sharp diminished 7th (G♯°7): the diminished triad with a diminished seventh, G-sharp, B, D, F
A few of these notes have names that may look unusual: B-sharp is played on C, D-double-sharp is played on E, and F-double-sharp is played on G. Each chord keeps its notes on every other letter name, which is what makes it read as a stack of thirds on the staff.
Each chord’s own page shows it in every inversion, with fingering, keyboard charts, notation, and audio.
G-sharp chords and keys
All of these chords grow from the same root, G-sharp. The chords that belong together in a key are a different family, built on each note of the scale; for those, see A-flat major piano chords (on the same keys, spelled from A-flat) and G-sharp minor piano chords.