Establishing chords from major scales is a fundamental skill for any guitarist. Doing so helps you gain a better understanding of chord progressions, enabling easier transposition to other keys and transposing easily to new keys.
One thing to keep in mind about major chords is their arrangement in thirds; that means each note is spaced out by three thirds from its neighbouring note – for instance C-E-G is considered a major chord.
Root note
Root notes of major chords can be played in various ways; inversion or adding another note as bass may all alter its sound; but no matter the variation, its root always remains constant – so understanding their structure is vitally important.
Building chords from the major scale is a fundamental skill that will set you up for future musical success. It helps navigate scale positions, transpose to different keys and develop your ear as a guitarist.
Position 1 of the major scale contains three root notes that form a triangle pattern on the fretboard, while position 2 contains another appearance of this root note, creating an octave shape with reversed patterns from position 1. Both patterns share similar interval qualities so you can practice them in any key.
Major third
The major third is an integral element of chords, defining both their sound and major or minor status. Consisting of three natural notes and four semitones, it must also be remembered that intervals are measured both on staff and keyboard in half steps to avoid common errors such as C sharp to F flat or E to A flat mistakes.
One of the most frequently played major chords is CM7 or Cmaj7, so it is crucial that you practice its shapes with care using a metronome or drum machine before moving on to other scales. Furthermore, different notes produce different sounds, and one half step can make all the difference between major and minor scale shapes; therefore it is crucial that all major scale shapes be learned thoroughly.
Major triad
Major triads are formed by stacking the root, major third and perfect fifth of a major scale together to form an open major chord (C, E and G). By shifting one note upward an octave from this configuration of C major chord inversion you get an open chord with its third in the bass (C/E).
Triads can be built on any note in the scale. Triads come in three varieties – major, minor and augmented chords. Major triads have three stacked notes stacked to produce an upbeat sound while minor ones have dissonant elements that create darker tones.
Triads with an added seventh are known as dominant 7th chords, having a major seventh interval between their roots and sevenths. A Csus2 chord has three notes – C, E and G – while this chart’s second chord Csus4 uses similar notes but plays differently by swapping out its third with a major 2nd (D). As a result of this change, this chord produces a more tension-filled sound than regular C major triads.
Minor triad
By beginning on different white notes, when building triads you will create two types of chord – minor and major. They differ due to the number of semitones (half tones or half steps) between their roots and fifth notes – for instance a C major triad has a minor third between its root and fifth notes while one built using E will produce a perfect fifth with dissonant results that sounds quite discordant.
Chords come in various qualities – major, minor, diminished and augmented – each represented by its own set of chord symbols. Below you will find one for each quality; to create one you need to draw the triad root and add any accidentals from your key signature to its notes; major triads have capital letters following their roots while minor ones feature lowercase “mi” markings while diminished ones show superscript circles (o) while for an augmented one use a plus sign (+). Learn to use chord symbols correctly so as to incorporate these symbols into your playing!