Chord progressions form the backbone of any song. Once you master them, melodies that suit any genre or style can easily follow suit.
Beginners often start off playing this chord as it requires no mutes. Once you advance, try experimenting by adding color by including notes not normally associated with it (e.g. D). How you emphasize this note may vary.
Major Triad
Triads are an integral component of both rhythm and lead guitar playing, comprising of three notes–a root note, major third note and perfect fifth–with this simple structure offering chords a vibrant sound suited to many musical genres.
C Major is usually one of the first chords most guitarists learn to play, making it an easy introduction to chord theory and practice. You can build more complex chords by adding extensions or scale shapes onto its foundation triad shapes.
The diagrams below depict two easy positions you can use to play C major triads in root position on the guitar. These shapes can then be moved up and down the fretboard for different inversions of chords. When learning these shapes, try to focus on only memorizing their root note to help retain information faster as you make your way up the fretboard more rapidly.
Minor Triad
Minor triads follow an interval formula of 1, b3, 5. They differ from major triads in that their third is lowered by one semitone; as such, their sound tends to be darker and melancholier than those produced by major triads.
Minor triads provide the foundation of chord progressions, arpeggios, melody arrangements and chord melody sets. You can even use them for adding a more gentle tone over dominant seventh chords.
Remind yourself that triads can either be closed or open voiced. Closed triads refer to those in which the root, major third and perfect fifth all fall within one octave – for instance the C major triad shapes in closed position that you have already learned.
Open minor triads are formed by shifting closed minor triads up an octave. This gives rise to first and second inversion minor triad shapes; you can see fretboard diagrams for these two inversions below.
Major Seventh
The major seventh chord is an indispensable jazz voicing that can add tension and drama to a progression. With its bright, almost ethereal sound it may seem dissonant without harmony present; however, when used within its intended harmonic context it can be very effective.
This chord can be constructed in many different ways. One simple approach is to play a major triad, then add one half step below its root (e.g. Cmaj7 would contain C-E-G). Another technique for creating major seventh chords involves playing diminished triads with formulae such as 1-3-5-7.
Drop 2 voicings, formed by shifting the third highest note in a close position chord an octave lower, produce R-3-5-7 as their foundation. These chords do not use major seventh symbols as this could confuse them with lowercase m chords that use drop 2 voicings; rather they may use either an open circle with “M7” inscribed within or simply the letter M to indicate these chords.
Minor Seventh
Minor Seventh chord is a four-note chord consisting of a minor triad plus an added minor seventh note above the root, also sometimes known as “minor seventh flat five” or “half-diminished seventh”.
These chords tend to sound less dissonant than dominant 7th chords and possess more melancholic sounds, often seen in blues songs such as Reverend Gary Davis’ Hesitation Blues or Buddy Guy’s Let Me Love You Baby.
Minor seventh chords can be one of the more challenging chords to master on guitar due to their complex construction, yet once mastered they can add extra colour and depth to your playing. Master Cm7, Am7, Gm7 and Em7 minor seventh chord shapes with your bassist before using them to enhance progressions for snappy funk progressions.