If you have reached this point in our guide to guitar chord progression, then chances are that you have a solid understanding of open and bar chords – these movable chord shapes, also known as triads, allow for greater versatility than static chord shapes on fretboard.
Bob Seger and The Byrds both utilize the G6 to Cmaj7 progression involving shifting two-finger shapes on songs such as Night Moves. It is used extensively throughout both songs.
Major Triad
The major triad is one of the fundamental chords in guitar playing. Composed of three notes that can be played in different positions and fingering styles, major triads are easy to learn and provide tremendous flexibility in your playing style.
This diagram and tab show three major triad shapes on the fretboard for strings 1, 2, and 3. They repeat up and down the fretboard; shape 1 serves as its root chord while shapes 2 and 3 stack one upon another.
Keep in mind that any note in a scale can serve as the basis of a triad. Triads created using do, re, and sol are major while those created using mi and la are minor.
Minor Triad
Triads provide an ideal introduction to the guitar fretboard. Used across styles and genres, triads can become especially fascinating when played quickly as arpeggios or melodies.
To create a minor triad, simply swap out the major third for an inverted flattened third. On a staff, this formula should read 1b5. When representing minor chords/triads using fretboard diagrams, use 3b4 as its symbol.
Always keep in mind that triads can be composed from any notes found within a key signature. Major-key triads built with do, fa, and sol are indicated with capital letters; for other pitch classes (minor and diminished), add an lowercase “m”.
Dominant Triad
Dominant seventh chords offer a strong sound, making them popular choices in rock, pop and blues music. To create these chords you combine major triads with tritone intervals (for instance G7 or B-D-F).
Dominants create movement in tonal music because they often resolve back to the tonic chord, commonly known as cadence. The sudden pull back to root chord can leave audiences wanting more.
There are various dominant seventh voicings you can create on guitar, and here are four called drop 3 voicings because their third highest note has been dropped an octave from its closed form. These could work well in any key.
Barre Triad
Once you’ve mastered open position and barre chords, the next step should be moving onto smaller triad shapes that can be moved around on the fretboard easily. This will enable you to play chord progressions that require multiple chord changes quickly.
As we’ll see shortly, the F major triad shape on the top three strings can be difficult to play; therefore, we will examine it as the first small triad shape. In order to play this chord properly, your middle finger must move upward from your index finger when playing A and C notes respectively.
Expanding this triad form by shifting it up two frets can further expand it and produce a D major triad. Fingering this version may be simpler as your index finger can simply be moved up two frets to accommodate for the B and E notes.
Power Triad
Power chords on the guitar differ from traditional chords in that they only include root and fifth of any scale, making these triad shapes easily found anywhere on the fretboard and an excellent way to simplify any song. For more information about intervals and chords, check out our lesson on guitar notes and chords.
Triads are often underappreciated fretboard elements. Not only can they effortlessly traverse key and position changes, they also open up new chord progressions for rhythm guitar players to explore.
Move the C power chord shape up two frets to form an F major triad, as depicted below, to produce an array of power chords that sound great when distorted.