As a guitarist, it’s crucial that you learn which chords are commonly employed and understand what their names are on sheet music.
One important concept to keep in mind when studying chords is that they consist of intervals. One such interval is the major or minor triad.
Triads
Triads are essential chords in any guitarist’s toolkit and form the backbone of many pop, folk and rock songs. Composed of three notes stacked in thirds – root, third and fifth (which may or may not be major or minor), these triads can serve as great starting points to creating melodies or creating riffs that form melodies.
Triad shapes are dynamic forms that you can alter easily for any fretboard position by moving it up or down one or two frets. Make sure to remember both its form and root note – these will form the basis of all future chords!
Practice playing different triad shapes in all keys and positions, taking time to compare their sound quality with that of chords you already know and experiment by substituting triads for full chords in songs you know well. This will build up finger strength while developing your understanding of harmony.
Dominant
Intermediate guitar players soon advance beyond learning major and minor triads to dominant seventh chords, which don’t fall under either major (characterized by brighter tones) or minor categories. Instead, these chords feature neither bright nor dim tones as opposed to major/minor dichotomy.
A major seventh chord differs from its dominant 7 counterpart in that it includes both a major third and seventh note; for instance, G7 contains G (root note), B (major third), and D (perfect fifth).
Dominant seventh chords are a beloved choice among rock n roll musicians and R&B artists alike, often making an appearance in hit songs such as Elvis’ Heartbreak Hotel which used A7, D7 and E7 dominant seventh chords as its foundation.
To play a dominant seventh chord, use your fingertips and press down on each string. Downstrokes are marked with thick horizontal bars with legs pointing downward on both sides of the chord; upstrokes are shown by an arrow above the fretboard.
Sustain
Beginners often start off by learning open chords, composed of the root, major 3rd and minor 5th notes in any scale (for instance G, B and D for a G major chord). You may notice these chords using open strings as their lowest tone – sometimes written out using an “X and O” graphic at the nut of their guitar to indicate which strings to play and muted during playing a chord. This serves as a good indicator of which notes you should focus on when creating chords.
Many factors contribute to sustain on a guitar, making the subject quite complex. Some schools of thought indicate that Mahogany provides optimal sustain. Another school of thought holds that frets must be soft, flexible and loose enough to allow strings to vibrate freely without stopping, whilst too tight frets could ruin this dynamic action and sap any sustain whatsoever.
Mixolydian
Mixolydian mode is one of the most widely utilized modes in modern guitar playing. With its distinctive sound, this mode makes an excellent fit for use across many genres and musical genres, enabling guitarists to construct chord sequences and solos of their choice in an array of ways.
Mixolydian is an accessible mode to learn, as its structure closely parallels that of major scale. The primary difference lies in its seventh note being lowered by half step to give chords a bluesier sound; mixolydian also makes an excellent choice for country music!
On the internet, there are Mixolydian neck diagrams that will assist in learning the mode. The first chart provides four one-octave shapes that are easy to play with your fingers while the second chart contains two patterns for playing higher octave versions of this mode – these patterns may even be used to build four note chords suitable for tertiary harmony playback.