EADGBe tuning is one of the most widely-used standard tunings for guitar chords, being easy to learn and suitable for many genres of music.
To tune a string, begin by plucking it and playing open notes on other strings to compare against it. Next, adjust your tuning peg so it matches its tone.
Scales
Scales provide the ideal way to gain an in-depth knowledge of chords and arpeggios, beginning their creation. Scales are patterns of notes which contain several of the same chord shapes – an integral component of music theory.
Scales follow a pattern of half and whole steps that create their signature sound, typically named by their starting and ending notes; for instance, the C major scale would consist of all notes starting with C and ending on C.
Changes to interval order can drastically alter the sound and mood created by a scale, such as tuning down one octave on a low E string can make it sound mellower while tuning it up one octave can change intonation resulting in flat or sharp notes; both changes altering its timbre – this explains why different tuning methods exist.
Triads
Triads are the core building blocks of chords. A triad consists of three notes stacked in thirds; its root note, an additional major or minor third note and fifth tone; where any note in any scale could serve as its root note and all three notes could either be major, minor, diminished or enhanced respectively.
Each triad has its own distinctive sound, determined by the intervals between its root, major and minor thirds and fifth. Major triads sound joyful while minor ones have melancholic tones; diminished and augmented triads possess creepy or mysterious qualities.
Becoming familiar with diatonic triads for each key signature is highly recommended; that is, chords that can be built on each scale degree – this will make switching among various triads much simpler on your fretboard and more fluid and natural than ever! Also practice shifting these shapes up and down an octave as you learn them for maximum effect when switching among their qualities.
Inversions
Guitar chords follow consistent shapes throughout the fretboard for each major or minor scale, but can also be inverted diagonally for various inversions. Chord inversions change the ordering of notes outside the bass position, which can alter its overall sound and give it a unique sound signature.
Example: A C major chord in root position features its third as the lowest note; by raising this note one octave higher, however, you’d end up with a Csus2 chord with E as its lowest tone and giving it a completely different sound.
Similar considerations apply when inverting other 7th chords such as major 7ths, minor 7ths, dim7 chords and add9 chords. By changing the order of notes in a chord you can create unique sounds; adding inversions adds variety and flavor to your guitar playing, not to mention being easier than you might think to master!
Chords
Once you are familiar with intervals, it is time to explore chords. A chord consists of multiple notes played simultaneously (known as triads) which are separated by third intervals – these determine whether a chord is major or minor.
Learning guitar chords requires knowing which strings to fret on in order to change their shape and maintain harmony. If a string changes its position within a chord it could alter its structure significantly and alter how you play.
Example: when playing a C major chord in standard tuning, its root lies on the third fret of E string. If you wanted to switch over to drop D tuning for this same chord, its root must move one fret higher, onto first fret of B string.
Change in chord shape and tonal color are of critical importance; for this reason many musicians choose to learn their chord structures using various tunings.