Chord progressions form the backbone of any song and can be one of the hardest aspects to master when just starting out.
Understanding which chords go together comes down to understanding each scale’s theory and how it relates to chords – this will enable you to play triads in any key.
Major Triad
Every note in the major scale can serve as the source for a major triad. When beginning on do, fa, and sol (1, 4, and 5) this triad will have an upbeat and lively sound while beginning on re, mi, and la will have more subdued and reflective tones.
Triad intervals correspond with scale degrees, making it easy to modify any chord shape up or down the fretboard by shifting its notes up one fret at a time. For instance, the C major triad could easily become a G major triad by finding its root note on one string and moving up from there.
Knowing how to move triads will enable you to quickly construct basic chord sequences quickly and effortlessly. Triad progressions are found in many popular songs, providing your playing with a full sound and rich tone. Furthermore, these patterns also work great when used for creating basslines.
Minor Triad
Once you have mastered major triads, the next step should be learning minor triads. The process remains similar; just adjust your third note so it lands lower in its octave (see chord diagram as an example).
Minor triads are depicted with lowercase letters following each capital letter of their root note in music notation. Like major triads, minor triads can also be inverted but for best results begin by trying out their original voicing first.
Minor triad identification is consistent regardless of doublings or open spacing due to octave equivalence, so once you understand these shapes try substituting them for full chords in songs you know as well as creating your own music using them – practicing to a metronome is recommended and don’t become frustrated if it takes some time! Have fun and don’t become disillusioned.
Major Dominant Triad
The major dominant triad has an upbeat and celebratory tone due to the perfect intervals (or seven frets) between its root and fifth chord, creating consonance and resolution musically.
There are also diminished triads that do not have perfect intervals; for instance, there are six frets between the root and fifth frets of a Csus6 chord, or Cadd6, unlike its counterparts that feature perfect fifths; instead, this chord utilizes major second or perfect fourths to create suspended chords.
Triads can also be altered by adding a seventh, which adds an interesting tone and allows you to navigate between key areas of the scale with greater ease. Triads should therefore be included as part of your repertoire; either used on their own or combined together to form larger chord shapes.
Minor Dominant Triad
There are two chords that appear frequently in guitar songs and it is essential that you learn them. One is the major 7th chord (shown above in light blue) while the other is a minor dominant triad.
Minor triads consist of the root, major third and perfect fifth notes from any minor scale arranged as 1 – b3 – 5. They have the interval formula 1 – b3 – 5, unlike their major triad counterpart which features only major scale tones. They offer more stability and resolution in comparison with dominant 7th chord’s dissonant or discordant feel.
Learning these triads and related seventh chords is an easy way to quickly add variety to your guitar harmonies – particularly when used in cadential progressions as previously discussed.