Beginners learning guitar often start off by exploring guitar chords as the primary method. These easy chords are straightforward to strum without needing bar chords for support.
Each triad has a distinctive sound depending on its interval between notes; for instance, C5 chord has a major tone while D Form chord has minor overtones.
Major Triad
Triads are three-note chords constructed by stacking thirds starting at a root note. For instance, C major is made up of C, E and G notes; to build our Major triad in close position (with its root note at its thinnest string), let’s begin by stacking thirds starting from it.
Once you understand how to play a Major triad in closed position, it’s time to progress to learning some first inversions of chords on the top set (3, 2, 1). Remember when it comes to learning music theory: don’t take on more than you can handle!
Studying these inversions will enhance your knowledge of chord progressions, leading to greater freedom when improvising. As soon as you grasp how chords and scale shapes interact with one another, they will come together on your fretboard more quickly – just keep practicing until everything comes together on your fretboard and start making some music! Good luck! Dan Farrant runs Hello Music Theory as a professional musician and music educator who specializes in teaching both guitar and piano and enjoys helping all levels unlock the joys of music.
Minor Triad
Minor Triads differ from Major Triads by not necessitating you to spell out each note (C, E and G) individually; rather they offer you more freedom when shifting around on the fretboard to create different chord types and create unique minor sounds that you can use before, between, or after other chords.
Each triad has a specific chord quality that is indicated by its suffix. A G minor triad, for instance, contains notes G, C and D and this pattern can be repeated starting on any note on the fretboard to create 12 different minor triads!
As with the Major Triad, practicing these shapes across strings and up and down the fretboard is crucial in opening up your fretboard, improving improvisation skills and creating unique chord voicings – something guitarists refer to as having a ‘chord vocabulary’.
Sus4 Triad
Sus chords (sometimes referred to as sus2 chords) are formed by leaving out the third note from a Major triad and creating an unresolved, tension-filled sound; often used in progressions as passing chords between other chords.
When transitioning between chords, usually the suspended note moves down or up in order to resolve into its new chord – for instance if C sus 4 was to move to D chord with high G note suspended then resolve back into C triad with three notes C E G
This type of chord can be heard in songs such as Message in a Bottle by The Police, where multiple sus2 chords are played to create an unnerved sound which slowly builds and releases tension. Gnarls Barkley employs this same technique in Crazy; suspending two bars on G sus 4 as part of his lyrics to emphasize its sound while emphasising the word’space’ within them.
Sus3 Triad
Sus chords can add movement and color to your guitar playing, as well as act as substitute chords. When improvising over sus chords, make sure that you emphasize its 4th tone resolving to its 3rd tone in each line you write.
A triad’s third determines its major or minor quality, but can also be altered by raising or dropping it, producing different sounds – this technique is known as suspended chords; sus4 and sus2 suspended chords are among the most frequently seen variations.
Sus chords can add tension and drama to your music when played correctly, as well as beautiful cadences within chord progressions. Be sure to incorporate sus chords into your playing until they feel natural before beginning experimentation with variations! — The Guitar Geek