About Triads

Triads are the building blocks of harmony. They are three-note chords that are constructed by stacking notes in intervals of a third. The four types of triads are

• major
• minor
• augmented
• diminished

1. Constructing Triads

   The three notes that make up a triad are called the Root, the 3rd and the 5th.

   1. Root

      The note that the chord is named after is called the Root. In a G major triad, G is the root. In a C minor triad, C is the root.

   2. Third

      The 3rd of the chord can be found an interval of a third above the root.

   3. Fifth

      The 5th of the chord can be found an interval of a fifth above the root.

2. Triad Qualities

   The term quality refers to whether the chord is major, minor, augmented or diminished.

   1. Major Triads

      Major triads contain the root, the third and the fifth. (1 • 3 • 5)

   2. Minor Triads

      Minor triads contain the root, the flat third and the fifth. (1 • b3 • 5)

   3. Augmented Triads

      Augmented triads contain the root, the third and the sharp fifth. (1 • 3 • #5)

   4. Diminished Triads

      Diminished triads contain the root, the flat third and the flat fifth. (1 • b3 • b5)

3. Open vs Close Position Triads

   In this case, position refers to how close together or spread apart we choose to play the notes of a given triad.

   1. Close Position Triads

      Close position triads contain all three notes within the span of a single octave.

   2. Open Position Triads

      Open position triads span a range larger than a single octave. They are also known as spread triads.

4. Triad Inversions

   The term inversion refers to which note of the triad is played on the bottom.

   1. Root Position

      In this case, we are using the word position again - but it is not referring to note spacing. Here, Root position simply means that the Root is the lowest note.

   2. First Inversion

      First inversion triads have the 3rd on the bottom.

   3. Second Inversion

      Second inversion triads have the 5th on the bottom.

5. Triad Practice Tips

   Use the interactive fretboard to explore triads on the guitar in every key, quality, inversion and string set in both close and open (spread) position!

   1. One chord, up the neck

      Choose a key and quality, then use the next and previous buttons to work your way up the entire neck of the guitar.

   2. One position, across the neck

      Once you have a good grasp of the shapes, choose a key and a quality and try to play it in a single area of the neck in as many different ways as possible.

   3. Through a key

      Try mixing and matching major, minor and diminished triads to play all the way through each chord in a single diatonic key. For example: Cmaj Dmin Emin Fmaj Gmaj Amin Bdim.

   4. Play some songs

      No need to make this a strictly academic exercise. Have fun with it and make some music! Take a song that you usually play using open chords or barre chords and try playing it using close or open position triads. You are sure to discover some great