Key of Eminor: Transitioning to G major chord

[riffman15]

I'm writing a song in e minor, and want to know what the best chord would be to lead into the relative major key of G. Currently, I have it as b minor, but it doesn't sound as nice as I'd like.

What would you jazz folks suggest?

[Joe Carlson]

The simple choice would be a D7. If you want you could throw an Amin7 to D7 to G. You could try Cmin7 to F7 to G if you want to get really crazy.

[fep]

It would be easier to help if you posted your chord progression.

Bm to G might not 'tonicize' the G enough to make it sound like you've changed keys. G is so closely related to Em that you might have to beat the listner over the head a bit so they hear that it's changed keys.

ii - V - I is probably the most common and then go back to a V - I to really empahsize the new key if you want. But this is just one choice, there is no one right answer. So that might look like this:

Em7 / A7 / | Am7 / D9 / | Gmaj7 / D7#9 Ab7 | Gmaj7 / / / |

By then your ear will be firmly planted in G.

[riffman15]

Thanks a lot guys; that was informative.

[FatJeff]

Like Joe said, the most obvious choice would be the V7 of G, which is D7. Eve more compelling if you make it and altered V7, like D7#5.

[Gitarguy]

In the key of E minor, the ii chord is diminished. Make it fully diminished, and it can go to any key, but it just happens that F#dim. goes to G very nicely, then to nail it down you need a dominant chord and another G chord.

[JonR]

Originally Posted by riffman15

I'm writing a song in e minor, and want to know what the best chord would be to lead into the relative major key of G. Currently, I have it as b minor, but it doesn't sound as nice as I'd like.

What would you jazz folks suggest?

D7 is the simplest method, as mentioned. And an F# in the bass can help, so you get an E-F#-G bass line. But that's best if the chord is brief (1 or 2 beats). If the D7 lasts a whole bar or more, you probably wouldn't want the F# bass all the way.

BTW, to get back to E minor - assuming you want to do that at some point - use a B7 (not Bm).
IOW, both major and minor keys have dom7 V chords. They give the strongest "tendencies" to resolve to the tonic.

Remember there are no "correct" answers, only choices that give whatever sound you want for that specific song. Sometimes you'll want D7 before that G, sometimes some other chord will sound better, sometimes you can just go straight to G with no preparation.
Likewise, to get back to Em, sometimes B7 is right, sometimes Bm, D or D7 (with or without that F# bass), sometimes something else. G7 or Gaug can work. In jazz, F7 can work (tritone sub of B7). Or D#dim7. That will work either way (to Em or G as Gitarguy says).
What all these choices have in common is some kind of "voice-leading" - commonly some kind of half-step move somewhere, up or down. That's the thing to look for.