UkuTabs Keys

Chords in the Key of G♭ Major on Ukulele

The chords in Gb Major are Gb, Abm, Bbm, B, Db, Ebm and Fdim. Six flats and shapes like Db and Bbm make it one of the hardest keys on a ukulele, which is why most players capo fret 1 and play the far kinder F Major shapes instead. Its relative minor is Eb Minor, which runs on the same seven chords, so this page quietly teaches you that key as well.

Key signatureSix flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)
Relative minor E♭ Minor
Parallel minor F♯ Minor
Neighboring keys B Major (C♭ Major) · D♭ Major (C♯ Major)
On ukulele Hard

G♭ Major is the same set of notes as F♯ Major. Both names describe the same sounds, so play whichever spelling the chart in front of you uses. Strict notation spells one note of this key as C♭ and some of the borrowed chords below get the same treatment. I use the everyday names instead, because B is a chord shape you can actually look up and C♭ isn't.

The chords in G♭ Major

These seven are the whole family. Nearly every song in this key is built from them, in some order. Tap a diagram to hear it and flip through other shapes, or open its page for the full rundown.

Struggling with these shapes? Put a capo on fret 1. A capo raises everything by one fret per position, so with it on fret 1 you can play the far easier shapes for F Major and the song still comes out in G♭ Major. That swaps Gb, Abm, Bbm for F, Gm, Am.

New to this? My capo guide covers where to clamp it and why it works. Rather move the song to a friendlier key for good? The transposing guide shows how.

Where G♭ Major lives on the wheel

Every key page shows this same circle. Watch the outlined block as you move between keys and the whole diagram explains itself.

this key its chords relative key 2♯ sharps or flats in the key tap any segment to open it

The outlined block is this key. Six of its seven chords always land in that shape and sliding the block one step round gives the next key over, numerals on the same spots. The seventh chord, the diminished, is named in the centre. Curious how the circle actually works? The how keys work guide tells the whole story.

Progressions that work in G♭ Major

Written out in this key so you can play them straight off the page. Each one is a pattern you have heard a thousand times, which is exactly why it works.

The four chords I - V - vi - IV

Behind more hits than any other four bars. If a song is in this key, try these first.

Three-chord song I - IV - V

Folk, blues, country and punk. Everything you need to busk in this key.

'50s doo-wop I - vi - IV - V

Stand By Me and half the jukebox. Warm and instantly familiar.

Jazz turnaround ii - V - I

The cadence jazz is built on. Add 7ths to all three for the real flavor.

Pop punk vi - IV - I - V

The same four chords starting on the minor. Moodier opening, same payoff.

Descending I - V - vi - iii - IV

The Canon line. Walks downhill and feels like it's going somewhere.

Chords worth borrowing

Chords from outside G♭ Major that still sound at home in it. One of these dropped into a plain progression is usually what lifts it out of beginner-exercise territory.

Db7 V7 The dominant with a 7th on top. Pulls hard back to the tonic.
Ab7 V7/V A dominant aimed at the V chord, so the V feels like a landing.
Eb7 V7/ii Sets up the ii chord, which is how a jazz turnaround gets rolling.
Bb7 V7/vi Leads into the relative minor for a quick change of mood.
Bm iv The minor subdominant. One borrowed chord, instant wistfulness.
A bIII Lifted from the parallel minor. Rock and gospel lean on it.
D bVI Huge and a bit heroic. Often walks down into the V.
E bVII The Mixolydian flat 7. Classic rock in one chord.
Gbsus4 Isus4 Holds the tonic in suspense for a beat before it resolves.

Other flavors of Gb

Same home note, different set of notes around it. Swapping the mode is the quickest way to change the mood of something without changing the key it sits in.

Gb Ionian The plain major scale. Bright and settled.
Gb Dorian Minor with a raised 6th. Minor, but hopeful.
Gb Phrygian Minor with a flat 2nd. Spanish and a little tense.
Gb Lydian Major with a raised 4th. Floaty and cinematic.
Gb Mixolydian Major with a flat 7th. The sound of rock and folk.
Gb Aeolian The plain natural minor. Sad in the usual way.
Gb Locrian Unstable by design. Rare outside metal and jazz.

There are 464 songs in G♭ Major on UkuTabs, worked out by reading the chords in every chart. It's the same reading you see in the "How to play" box on the song itself, so the two always agree. Charts that don't clearly settle on one key are left out rather than guessed at.

About G♭ Major

A key is the family of notes and chords a song is built around, named after the chord it keeps coming home to. In G♭ Major that home chord is Gb and the other six chords above are its relatives. Play them in almost any order and it'll sound like music, because they all come from the same seven notes.

G♭ Major shares its key signature and all seven of its chords with E♭ Minor, its relative minor. The only thing that changes is which chord feels like home. That's why a song can drift between the two without anything sounding wrong and it's also why working out the key from the chords alone isn't always possible. The last chord usually settles it.

Either side of it on the wheel sit B Major and D♭ Major, which differ by a single note. Those are the easiest keys to move to if you want a key change and the first place to look for a chord to borrow.

New to all of this? The how keys work guide walks through the whole idea in plain words and ends with writing a song of your own in one.

Short answers to the questions ukulele players ask most about keys like this one.

What chords are in Gb Major?

The seven chords in Gb Major are Gb, Abm, Bbm, B, Db, Ebm and Fdim. The three you'll use most are Gb, B and Db, the I, IV and V.

Is Gb Major hard to play on ukulele?

It scores 71 on my playability scale, which puts it in the hard band. The score comes from the actual shapes: fretted strings, real barres and anything past the third fret, weighted towards the chords you play most. If it feels awkward, capo 1 and play the shapes for F Major instead.

What is the relative minor of Gb Major?

Eb Minor. Same seven chords, same key signature, different home chord. The wheel above shows the pair as inner and outer ring on the same spoke.

What key signature does Gb Major have?

Six flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb). It shares that signature with Eb Minor.

Every key has its own page: the chords as diagrams, the progressions that work in it, capo advice and the songs written in it.

Major

C Major G Major D Major A Major E Major B Major G♭ Major D♭ Major A♭ Major E♭ Major B♭ Major F Major

Minor

A Minor E Minor B Minor F♯ Minor C♯ Minor G♯ Minor E♭ Minor B♭ Minor F Minor C Minor G Minor D Minor

Next stop: look up any shape on the chord diagrams, work out a chord you already know the shape of with the chord namer, run the scale up the neck on scales or get in tune first with the tuner.

Ukulele Tabs & Chords

Chords in the Key of G♭ Major on Ukulele

Frequently asked questions