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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of G minor on cavaquinho

G minor: G – A – Bb – C – D – Eb – F. In the shapes below, the tonic opens with the bass on G. On the cavaquinho, four steel strings tuned D–G–B–D pack the chord into a small, bright space — every finger counts. Its four steel strings give a bright, sharp attack that cuts through the mix and drives the beat.

Gm7, 5 3 3 3Gm73111GBbDF
i · tonic5 3 3 3
Am7b5, 7 5 4 5Am7b544213ACEbG
ii° · subdominant7 5 4 5
Bbmaj7, 3 3 3 7Bbmaj731114FBbDA
III · tonic3 3 3 7
Cm7, 1 3 1 1Cm71423EbBbCEb
iv · subdominant1 3 1 1
Dm7, 3 2 1 0Dm7321FACD
v · dominant3 2 1 0
Ebmaj7, 1 0 3 0Ebmaj712EbGDD
VI · tonic1 0 3 0
F7, 3 2 1 1F73211FACEb
VII · dominant3 2 1 1

This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.

These are the first positions of every degree of G minor on cavaquinho. In Chord & Fret, the Circle of Fifths opens the full field — every degree with all its positions, audio and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →

See the full harmonic field of G minor →