Key reference

The key of G major

1 sharp · G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯

G major has 1 sharp: F♯. A piece in this key draws on G, A, B, C, D, E, F♯ and treats G as home.

The seven chords below are the ones built from those notes alone, which is why they sound like they belong together.

The key signature

The key signature of G major: F.

Order of sharps

F♯
C♯
G♯
D♯
A♯
E♯
B♯

This signature uses the first 1 of them: F♯.

The notes of the key

These are the notes of the major scale on this tonic. See the G major scale for the degrees and step pattern.

G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯

The seven diatonic chords

Build a triad on each degree using only notes from the key and the qualities fall into a fixed pattern. That pattern is the same in every major key, which is why progressions transpose so cleanly.

Degree	Roman	Chord	Notes	Function
1	I	G	G – B – D	Tonic
2	ii	Am	A – C – E	Predominant
3	iii	Bm	B – D – F♯	Tonic
4	IV	C	C – E – G	Predominant
5	V	D	D – F♯ – A	Dominant
6	vi	Em	E – G – B	Tonic
7	vii°	F♯dim	F♯ – A – C	Dominant

Adding sevenths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of the key.

Roman	Chord	Notes
I	Gmaj7	G – B – D – F♯
ii	Am7	A – C – E – G
iii	Bm7	B – D – F♯ – A
IV	Cmaj7	C – E – G – B
V7	D7	D – F♯ – A – C
vi	Em7	E – G – B – D
vii°	F♯m7♭5	F♯ – A – C – E

Common progressions in G major

These are the same shapes you meet in every major key, written with this key’s chords.

I – V – vi – IV

GITonic
DVDominant
EmviTonic
CIVPredominant

I – vi – IV – V

GITonic
EmviTonic
CIVPredominant
DVDominant

ii – V – I

AmiiPredominant
DVDominant
GITonic

Related keys

Relationship	Key	Signature
Relative minor	E minor	Same signature
Parallel minor	G minor	2 flats
One step sharpwards	D major	One more sharp
One step flatwards	C major	One more flat

Neighbouring keys on the circle of fifths share six of their seven notes.