What notes are in Gb?

Gb contains Gb · Bb · Db. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

How do you build a major chord?

Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.

What is the difference between Gb and a minor chord on the same root?

One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.

What notes are in the Gb Major chord?

The Gb Major chord contains the notes Gb · Bb · Db: the root Gb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Gb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Gb Major chord?

Measured from Gb, the Gb Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

Gb Major Chord (Gb): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	Gb3 · Bb3 · Db4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Gb Major (Gb) contains the notes Gb · Bb · Db, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built

Inversions

An inversion of Gb Major puts a chord tone other than Gb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Gb Major belongs to.

In which keys

Gb Major is diatonic to 7 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

B minorVDominant
B majorVDominant
G# minorVIISubdominant
F# majorITonic
D# minorIIITonic
Db majorIVSubdominant
Bb minorVISubdominant

Scales that contain it

Gb Major fits inside these scales, each built on Gb.

Gb Major PentatonicGb · Ab · Bb · Db · Eb
Gb MajorGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F
Gb LydianGb · Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F
Gb MixolydianGb · Ab · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb
Gb Lydian DominantGb · Ab · Bb · C · Db · Eb · Fb
Gb Ionian PentatonicGb · Bb · Cb · Db · F
Gb Mixolydian PentatonicGb · Bb · Cb · Db · Fb
Gb Lydian PentatonicGb · Bb · C · Db · F

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Gb Major: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Gb5Gb · Db

Richer

Gbmaj7Gb · Bb · Db · F
Gb7Gb · Bb · Db · Fb
Gb6Gb · Bb · Db · Eb
Gbadd9Gb · Bb · Db · Ab
Gb7#9Gb · Bb · Db · Fb · A
Gbmaj9Gb · Bb · Db · F · Ab

Common substitutions

EbmEb · Gb · Bb
Ebm is the relative minor: it shares two notes with Gb and often stands in for it.
BbmBb · Db · F
Bbm shares two notes with Gb and gives a softer tonic.

Major on every root

C C#Db D Eb E F F#G G#Ab A Bb B

Open it in a tool

Understanding the Gb Major chord

Names and symbols

Gb is the chord symbol for Gb Major; it is also written GbM, Gb^, Gbmaj.

Gb Major and F# Major are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. F# Major

How it is built

On Gb the major triad is Gb · Bb · Db, stacking the intervals 1P · 3M · 5P. The major third makes it sound bright; the perfect fifth makes it sound settled.

Change only the third and the chord turns minor. Everything the ear reads as "happy" or "sad" in a plain triad lives in that one note.

How it is used

It is the I chord of its own key and the tonic almost every progression eventually returns to. It also appears as the IV and V of its key, which is why three major triads are enough for a large share of folk, country and rock.

Inverted, it keeps its identity completely — Gb with the third or fifth in the bass is still Gb, just voiced to smooth the bass line.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in Gb?: Gb contains Gb · Bb · Db. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
How do you build a major chord?: Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.
What is the difference between Gb and a minor chord on the same root?: One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.
What notes are in the Gb Major chord?: The Gb Major chord contains the notes Gb · Bb · Db: the root Gb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Gb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Gb Major chord?: Measured from Gb, the Gb Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.