A chord is composed of multiple notes that are strung together with an instrument like guitar or bass guitar and often becomes one of the first items students learn when beginning to learn to play guitar.
The fundamental guitar chords consist of major and minor triads and dominant sevenths, as well as major-minor sevenths which combine these structures with major thirds to create perfect fifths.
Triads
Triads are groups of three notes which appear on the fretboard in specific shapes. Common types include major and minor triads.
Major and minor triads are separated by major thirds; major and minor triads can also be combined in an octave form to produce more intricate chords.
An octave in a triad is determined by the distance between its root and third notes, providing a basis for its major and minor qualities.
One of the easiest ways to learn chord shapes is by working through them string by string. Start with CAGED patterns and break them down to their individual triad forms – once this part of your learning is complete, working out other strings will become much simpler.
If you want to advance further, try going through each triad shape in every key. This will help develop your ear while becoming familiar with the fretboard.
Major Scale
Understanding the major scale is an integral component of being a musician or newcomer; it provides a solid framework upon which to build chord progressions, transpose to different keys, and build your ear as an instrumentalist.
The scale is composed of whole steps and half tones; each step up represents two half tones. A major scale’s notes are named according to their root note – this is known as its key note.
Major scales produce an extremely positive sound when played and are frequently employed when composers seek to express emotions such as hope or joy through compositions. They’re also widely used in improvisation and creating melodies.
Learning major scale patterns is an effective way to train your ear and recognize interval movements on the fretboard. Each major scale has a distinct pattern and root note, yet their interval qualities remain constant – this makes it simple to take chord progressions from one major scale and transfer them easily to other keys.
Minor Scale
No matter the genre of music being created, scales play an integral part. They’re used as step-by-step sequences of notes that explore specific musical sounds; and the minor scale is no exception.
There are three different minor scales, the natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. While each has their own sound signature they all can be used to build chords.
Understanding how these scales relate to guitar chords lies in their root notes. A minor scale’s root note will dictate which chords it will associate with.
Below we take a closer look at each of the five positions in a minor scale and their relationships to guitar chord notes. Each position displays intervals and fingering recommendations along with root note locations – by learning these notes you can start to associate these scales with chords more readily and form muscle memory that makes playing them simpler.
Common Chords
Chord progressions form the backbone of music. A great way to learn chords is through experimentation with popular songs you enjoy and seeing which chords sound good together. Chord diagrams also help, which show which frets and strings make up any given chord.
Common guitar chord shapes are fairly straightforward, particularly open chords – typically the first chords to learn for beginners due to open strings and fingered notes being intertwined within them. Common open chords include C major, D major and F major chords.
Chord diagrams contain symbols representing which strings to play at which frets with which fingers. Some strings may feature an open string symbol such as an X or circle above them to indicate whether that string should be strung openly or closed, respectively. When strumming chords, make sure that none of your fingers contact any other strings which would dampen or muffle what note is intended.