Chord Structure Part 1

Triads

TRIADS ARE THE MOST BASIC CHORD STRUCTURES CONTAINING A ROOT, 3RD, AND 5TH. A TRIAD CAN BE BUILT STARTING ON ANY NOTE OF A SCALE. IN EACH CASE, THE STARTING NOTE IS ALWAYS CALLED THE ROOT. THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF TRIADS; THE DISTANCE BETWEEN EACH NOTE IS IMPORTANT.
  1. MAJOR TRIAD:

    THIS TRIAD CONSISTS OF A MAJOR THIRD(2 WHOLE STEPS) BETWEEN THE ROOT AND THE 3RD, AND A MINOR THIRD(1½ STEPS) BETWEEN THE 3RD AND THE 5TH.

    ROOT - MAJOR THIRD - 3RD - MINOR THIRD - 5TH

  2. MINOR TRIAD:

    THIS TRIAD CONSISTS OF A MINOR THIRD BETWEEN THE ROOT AND THE 3RD AND A MAJOR THIRD BETWEEN THE 3RD AND THE 5TH.

    ROOT - MINOR THIRD - 3RD - MAJOR THIRD - 5TH

  3. DIMINISHED TRIAD:

    THIS TRIAD CONSISTS OF A MINOR THIRD BETWEEN THE ROOT AND THE 3RD AND A MINOR THIRD BETWEEN THE 3RD AND THE 5TH.

    ROOT - MINOR THIRD - 3RD - MINOR THIRD - 5TH

  4. AUGMENTED TRIAD:

    THIS TRIAD CONSISTS OF A MAJOR THIRD BETWEEN THE ROOT AND THE 3RD AND A MAJOR THIRD BETWEEN THE 3RD AND THE 5TH.

    ROOT - MAJOR THIRD - 3RD - MAJOR THIRD - 5TH

Know Your Fretboard

EACH FRET OF A GUITAR IS A HALF OF A STEP.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN FRET 1 AND FRET 2 IS A HALF A STEP. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN FRET 1 AND FRET 3 IS A WHOLE STEP.

Here is a good source for learning the notes of the guitar's fretboard:

NOTICE THAT THE NOTES ON THE 12TH FRET ARE THE SAME NOTES AS THE OPEN STRINGS. ALSO NOTICE THAT THE INTERVAL BETWEEN B & C AND THE INTERVAL BETWEEN E & F IS ONLY ½ STEP WHERE ALL OF THE OTHER INTERVALS ARE A WHOLE STEP.

Example:

TO MAKE AN E MAJOR TRIAD USING THE E STRING, YOU WOULD START WITH THE OPEN E AS THE ROOT. A MAJOR TRIAD STARTS WITH A MAJOR THIRD BETWEEN THE ROOT AND THE 3RD, SO COUNT UP 2 WHOLE STEPS OR 4 (½) STEPS ON THE E STRING TO GET THE 3RD OF THE MAJOR TRIAD. THE 3RD OF THIS CHORD IS A G#.

TO FIND THE 5TH OF A MAJOR TRIAD, THERE MUST BE A MINOR THIRD BETWEEN THE 3RD(G#) AND THE 5TH, OR 3 (½) STEPS. THE 5TH OF THIS CHORD IS A B.

NOW THAT WE HAVE THE ROOT, 3RD, AND 5TH OF THIS CHORD, LETS SEE WHAT THE MAJOR E CHORD LOOKS LIKE:

IF WE LOOK AT EACH STRING, WE SHOULD FIND ALL OF THE NOTES OF OUR E TRIAD. NOTICE THAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN E MAJOR TRIAD AND AN E MINOR TRIAD IS THAT THE 3RD IS LOWERED BY A HALF STEP. THE ROOT AND THE 5TH REMAIN THE SAME. (*) THE 3RD (G#) OF THE E MAJOR CHORD WAS LOWERED TO A G IN THE E MINOR CHORD.

YOU CAN DO THIS SAME THING ON ANY OF THE STRINGS, WITH ANY OF THE CHORDS THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT SO FAR AND THEY SHOULD ALL WORK FOR YOU. TRY IT!

Triad Spellings

An important thing to note when you are identifying specific notes of a triad is that each triad has a specific "spelling". I've given some examples below to show you what I mean. Sharps and flats can be added to the letter to keep the spelling. A real good example is the different spellings between a Bb Major chord and an A# major chord (you will most likely see this chord shown as a Bb). They are the same chord, but when you spell them out, different letters and their corresponding #'s or b's will be used. A C## is the same as D (2 sharps move you up 2 frets), and an E# is the same note as F. This knowledge is most useful when you can't decide on whether to call a note by it's # or b name.


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