One of the most beloved chord progressions in rock music, this progression can be heard on songs by Green Day (Good Riddance (to the ’90s)) and Journey (Don’t Stop Believin’) using major triad chords.
Triads consist of three notes separated by what’s known as a perfect interval – usually seven frets (2 1/2 tones above the root note).
Triads
Triads form the core of any progression. Their quality will depend on whether their root and fifth chords form major or minor intervals; additionally, they may be diminished or amplified depending on which notes are used to compose them.
No matter the sound you want to create, whether bright and happy or sad and melancholic, there is a triad to fit the bill. Understanding how to build these different starting notes into triads will allow you to be flexible when crafting progressions of your own.
Triads are flexible shapes that can be moved along both ends of a fretboard as well as around its fifths circle. To form one, begin by writing the root note (known as tonic) onto a staff and adding notes above it (think drawing a snowperson). When doing so, major or minor chords will result if both third and fifth notes belong to one scale; otherwise it is considered either diminished or augmented triad.
Major Triad
Understanding major triad shapes will enable you to better comprehend other chords when reading chord charts or creating basslines of your own. Most guitar chords contain one or more major triad shapes as constituent parts.
Each triad is composed of three consecutive note intervals – root, third and fifth – making them easy to locate on the fretboard using the circle of fifths.
A major triad comprises a major third at its base, a minor third on top, and a perfect fifth between them – often abbreviated MM or Cmaj on lead sheets and harmonic analysis.
Starting with any major scale note, you can construct any major triad. Once you find the root note – usually the lowest note in a chord – use the above diagram and fretboard layout to identify and arrange for all three other notes in your chord.
Minor Triad
Minor triads are built using similar intervals as major triads, except that their middle note is one third lower than their top note (also known as a minor seventh). When strung together three consecutive major and minor thirds together they form a perfect fifth which is both consonant and stable for chord construction.
Harmonic analysis and lead sheets usually refer to minor triads as Cm or just the lowercase letter c. A D-minor triad is designated with Dm or just its lowercase letter d notation.
Minor triads, like their major counterparts, can either be open or closed. When in closed position, the chord’s root note is played on the bass string while its other two notes are positioned an octave above this bass note; this creates an inharmonic chord without dissonant intervals between bass, tenor and alto voices while providing fuller sound than open positions! Practice your minor triad shapes across all 12 keys as well as transposing them to open positions to develop your technique!
Seventh Triad
The seventh chord of a triad can create tension and mystery in music. Usually it’s used as a dominant seventh chord but other variations such as minor major or half diminished are possible – these combinations create even greater excitement (see Willie Nelson video above for example).
A seventh chord adds one note above a triad’s third, fifth and seventh notes, adding a seventh tone that can be stacked into three dimensions to form moveable fretboard shapes. A typical seventh chord may look like an extra-long snowperson on paper when written out as it contains bottom middle middles with heads attached – as opposed to being written on staff paper like other chords do.
Chords are generally named by their triad type and seventh type; for instance, D7, C7 or G7 chords. When both types overlap (e.g. C7 chord) they tend to be shortened (e.g. C7). There are exceptions such as augmented chords which may simply be called major 7s (maj7 or m7) or fully diminished seventh chords known as o7 or dm7 chords.