What chord form when all six open strings of a guitar are plucked simultaneously? Answer: a triad.
Chord progressions may seem straightforward at first, but as your skills and understanding develop they can become increasingly intricate. To understand more complex chords it may be beneficial to learn some music theory in order to grasp them better.
Major Scale
Understanding the major scale is integral to playing guitar songs successfully, serving as the cornerstone for most pieces you will ever compose. A major scale consists of whole and half steps repeated across your fretboard (see diagram). A whole step corresponds to two frets while half steps cover only one fret.
Once you have mastered basic chords on one string, practice shifting between patterns. For instance, if ascending C major through 6-4 box patterns on one string and shifting that same pattern onto another string – 6-2 (see below). This will connect them and make switching between major and minor chords simpler.
Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon is an excellent song to start learning with as it only requires five basic chords and minimal changes in progression. Beginners may find this simple folk piece beneficial.
Minor Scale
Minor scale is an introspective key that creates an atmospheric and dark tone, built upon similar patterns to major scale but beginning with a flattened note in its third position for added oomph in chord progression songs.
All other notes in the scale remain constant, following a pattern of W-H-W-H-W-H in third position; however, its flattened note makes an enormous difference. Study this scale and practice playing chords all across your fretboard with it!
Songs featuring only minor chords can be soothing (George Gershwin’s “Summertime”), funky (the Commodores’ “Brick House”) or rocking (Soul Asylum’s “Cry for a Shadow”). Modulation – switching between major and minor progressions to create tension within songs – adds tension while providing melody transitions such as one and a half steps or two frets off from tonic down from tonic and two frets up from it, often found within melodies that feature transitions like this. This modulation adds tension in melodies such as these.
Triads
Triads are one of the most important chord groups to master. Used across genres and allowing guitarists to craft complex chord progressions with ease, triods also play an invaluable role in riffs and solos.
Start off by practicing moving the first triad on your string set to different inversions – this will give you a greater understanding of how triads work and give you the foundational knowledge to construct more advanced ones in the future.
Once you understand the basic triad shapes, take time to listen to examples of major and minor triads with their fifth removed. This will enable you to differentiate between their chords, as well as begin understanding how different qualities triads possess; such as how major can sound “happy,” while minor may produce sadness.
Power Chords
Power chords have long been an integral component of rock and metal songs featuring heavy distortion, particularly those featuring Kirk Hammett tearing through some incredible riffs from Metallica songs such as “Enter Sandman.” Pop-punk bands like Blink-182 also employ power chords widely; Tom Delonge’s guitar solo in “What’s My Age Again” features some amazing power chords.
A power chord, also referred to as 5, typically comprises two notes that are separated by an interval of one octave – for instance a C power chord would consist of its root note on the low E string and fifth note one octave higher on A string.
Know that power chords require muted strings, so your fingers must be flexible enough to mute any unwanted ones while playing the notes you need. To mute unwanted strings when strumming chords, place the palm of your hand over them or use your thumb as you strum them – this may also work!