Three notes stacked in thirds
A triad is a chord made of three notes: a root (1), a third (3) above the root and a fifth (5) above the root. Start on any note, skip a letter, take the next one, skip another and take the next: C, E and G make the C triad. The root names the chord, and the other two notes set its quality.
Almost every chord you play on guitar, from open chords to barre chords, has a triad at its core. Bigger shapes simply repeat some of its three notes in other octaves.
The four triad qualities
The distance from the root to the third and to the fifth gives each triad its quality and its sound.
| Quality | Formula | Built from | On C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 1–3–5 | Major third and perfect fifth | C–E–G |
| Minor | 1–♭3–5 | Minor third and perfect fifth | C–Eb–G |
| Diminished | 1–♭3–♭5 | Minor third and diminished fifth | C–Eb–Gb |
| Augmented | 1–3–♯5 | Major third and augmented fifth | C–E–G# |
Major triads are the natural place to start: in every major key, the I, IV and V chords are major triads, the three chords behind countless songs. The major triads page lists the notes of all twelve.
Why guitarists practice triads
- They are small. On three adjacent strings a triad needs one note per string, so you can play it anywhere on the neck and change shapes quickly.
- They teach you the neck. Knowing which string holds the root, the third and the fifth turns chord shapes into notes you can name.
- They connect chords smoothly. Choosing the right inversion lets one chord flow into the next with minimal movement: that is voice leading.
- They are melodic vocabulary. The notes of a triad are the strongest notes to aim for when you improvise over that chord.
How to learn them
Work on one set of three strings at a time: first find the root of each triad on every string, then learn its three inversions, and then use those same shapes to connect the chords of a key. It is slow, but deep: learning where the root, the third and the fifth are in every shape, and not just the shapes, is what lets you see the chords across the neck and, after a while, improvise over them with ease. The step-by-step guide to playing triads on guitar shows the whole routine and how to practice it.