How To Play G Flat Chord On Guitar?
In today's lesson, we'll go over 5 distinct ways to play the G flat major chord or Gb chord on guitar.
We'll discover the most popular ways to play the chord, inversions, each with its own chord diagram example as well as tips to make smooth chord transitions. We'll also discuss chord theory, how it gets its name, how to use it, and some killer songs to practice to.
Gb Major Chord With Barre Chords (Easy)
Due to the notes that make up these guitar chords, there aren’t open strings or open positions used. However, the easiest way to play The Gb chord on guitar is actually a barre chord.
It's even easier than most open chords! To play, place your:
- First finger on the 11th fret of the fourth string
- Bar across strings 2 - 4
- Strum only these three strings!
Where this voicing is not in root position it would be considered an inversion. Inversions simply mean the root note of a chord (in this case, the Gb note) is not the bass note.
When an inversion is written, it is often referred to as a slash chord, such as Gb/Db. This simply means play the Gb but have the Db note as the lowest note.
Play The G Flat Major Chord Without Barre
The next voicing for the Gb chord is a killer way to prepare your hands for barre chords. To play, place your:
- Index finger on the low e (sixth) string, second fret
- Third finger on the 5th string, fourth fret
- Fourth finger on the 4th string, fourth fret
- Second finger on the third string, third fret
When you strum just make sure to avoid strumming the first string and second string.
Play Gb Major Chord With Barre Chords
G Flat Barre Chord (E Shape)
If there's one chord shape you need to know when it comes to playing the G flat major chord on guitar, this is the one. This is the most common way to play the Gb chord on guitar and is similar to the shape above.
Simply press your index finger to the side as your other fingers squeeze in, barring across all six strings.
If you can do the non barre voicing of this shape, adding in the barre should be relatively easy.
G Flat Barre Chord (A Shape)
This is going to be similar to the first Gb major chord we learned, but this time we are going to barre with your third finger while your index finger presses on the fifth string, ninth fret.
If you feel this chord shape is a bit difficult, make sure your thumb is in the correct position (see video)
The last voicing we'll discuss for Gb major is also an inversion. To play, place your:
- Third finger on the fourth string, 8th fret
- Second finger on second string, 7th fret
- First finger on the third string, 6th fret
As you squeeze in barre with your first finger across the strings 1 - 3.
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G Flat Major Tips
Tip #1
The #1 mistake players make in learning how to play new chords is that they don't memorize them. If you have to constantly look at where to place your fingers, your mind/body won't develop proper coordination. Focus on learning just a few chords at a given time.
Tip #2
To learn the Gb major chord, play the chord very slowly so that all your fingers attack the strings simultaneously. Your chord changes will always be slow if you place your fingers on the fretboard one at a time.
Tip #3
Be sure your thumb is in the correct position. The #1 reason why players struggle with chords, have stiff fingers, think they have small hands, etc.. is due to a simple two-second fix... The thumb needs to be in the correct position. If it's on the outside of your index finger, your hand will not work properly.
Easy Songs Using G Flat Major
Greenday - American Idiot
G Flat Major Guitar Chord Theory
Now, let’s break down the theory of the Gb chord so you can better understand how to use it.
The Gb major chord is built from the Gb major scale, also written as G flat major scale: Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F. When reading standard notation or charts, you'll know if the song is in the key of G flat major because at the beginning of the music, the key signature will show six flats.
Now, to understand the chord formula, you need to understand "scale degrees," which is simply numbering the notes of the scale starting with the root note.
When teaching theory, guitar teachers often reference the piano due to the simplicity of the layout of a piano keyboard, especially where the G flat major scale uses a lot of black keys, but I think the illustration below will do:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F
As you can see, I have bolded the notes that are used to create a G flat major chord. In music theory, we need the 1 3 5 scale degrees of a major scale to create a major chord as opposed to the 1 b3 5 notes of minor scales to create minor chords.
You must have these three notes Gb Bb Db to make a Gb major chord. You can have multiple notes (see chord diagrams) but no other notes can be played otherwise you change the quality of the chord. Meaning, it will no longer be a Gb major chord.
Now you know a few ways to play the Gb major chord and understand some Gb chord theory!
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