G#m Chord on Ukulele
G#m = G# – B – D# (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th)
G# minor asks for a fretted note on every string, arranged in an ascending staircase across the neck: the G string at the first fret, the A string at the second, the C string at the third, and the E string at the fourth, each finger landing one fret higher than its neighbor moving from the outer G string inward. It's a genuinely closed shape with no open string to anchor it, but the ascending pattern makes it easier to visualize than a cluster of same-fret notes would be. Going by string order (G, C, E, A) the fretted notes are G# (root, on the G string), D# (fifth, on the C string), G# again an octave higher (on the E string), and B (minor third, on the A string) — the shape covers G# minor's full triad across four strings with the E string simply repeating the root rather than introducing a new pitch class.
As the relative minor of B major, G# minor shares that key's signature outright and steps in as the vi chord whenever a B major song wants to darken its mood without introducing any note foreign to the key — the same textbook substitution mechanism that links every major key to its own relative minor. Beyond that, it also serves as the ii chord of F# major and the iii chord of E major, two keys with heavy real-world use on this instrument, so the chord shows up in practice far more often than its own comparatively obscure home key would predict. With all four notes fretted and nothing left open, the voicing has a tight, closed-in quality distinct from a minor chord like Am or Gm that gets to ring an open string — a difference in texture, not just pitch. Its own tonic-key repertoire is thin: songs actually centered on G# minor are rare on ukulele, and most players will meet this shape purely as a visitor inside B, F#, or E major material.
Fingerings
Closed Position
How to Practice It
Because every finger sits at a different fret, this shape has no barre or open string to fall back on for consistency — build it by anchoring the two outer notes first, the G string's first fret and the E string's fourth fret, then fill in the C and A strings' middle two frets once those two are secure. Say the fret sequence aloud while placing each finger — one, two, three, four, moving straight across from the G string to the E string — since turning the ascending physical pattern into a spoken cue makes it easier to recall in a hurry than trying to picture the shape cold. Because G# minor and its relative major B share almost no physical geometry, treat switching between them as learning two unrelated hand positions rather than expecting one to grow naturally out of the other, and drill that specific transition on its own before dropping it into a full progression.
Common Progressions
- vi – IV – I – V, from B major's perspective (G#m – E – B – F#)
- ii – V – I in F# major (G#m – C# – F#)
- iii – vi in E major (G#m – C#m)
- i – iv – v in G# minor's own key (G#m – C#m – D#m)
FAQ
- How is G# minor related to B major on ukulele?
- Both draw from the identical set of seven notes, so G# minor introduces nothing outside B major's own scale — it simply recenters the ear on the sixth scale degree instead of the first, the standard effect of any relative-minor substitution.
- Why does G# minor use an ascending-fret shape?
- Its four notes don't cluster near the open position on GCEA tuning, so the cleanest available voicing happens to land each string's note one fret higher than the last, moving from the G string to the E string.
- What's the trickiest part of the G# minor shape?
- Keeping all four independently placed fingers from muting their neighbors, since there's no barre or open string to fall back on if one finger drifts.
- Does G# minor appear as its own key center in ukulele songbooks?
- Very rarely — B, F#, and E major, the three keys it borrows into, are all far more heavily represented on their own, so most players encounter this shape strictly as a passing color chord rather than a genuine tonic.
- Is memorizing the fret numbers aloud actually a useful practice trick?
- For a closed, ascending shape like this one, yes — turning the physical finger pattern into a spoken one-two-three-four sequence gives the hand a verbal cue to fall back on when a fast chord change would otherwise cause hesitation.
G#m on other instruments: G#m on Guitar, G#m on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.