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Chord & Fret

Harmonic field of G# minor on cavaquinho

G# minor: G# – A# – B – C# – D# – E – 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.

G#m7, 6 4 4 4G#m743111G#BD#F#
i · tonic6 4 4 4
A#m7b5, 8 6 5 6A#m7b554213A#C#EG#
ii° · subdominant8 6 5 6
Bmaj7, 4 4 4 8Bmaj741114F#BD#A#
III · tonic4 4 4 8
C#m7, 2 4 2 2C#m71423EBC#E
iv · subdominant2 4 2 2
D#m7, 1 3 2 4D#m71324D#A#C#F#
v · dominant1 3 2 4
Emaj7, 2 1 0 1Emaj7312EG#BD#
VI · tonic2 1 0 1
F#7, 4 3 2 2F#73211F#A#C#E
VII · dominant4 3 2 2

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 →