Triads Are The Building Blocks Of Harmony - Inversions of Major and Minor Triads
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Triads are the building blocks of harmony — and learning them across the neck is one of the most valuable things a rhythm player can do. Here's how string sets, inversions, and a bit of simple math unlock the whole fretboard.
What you'll learn
- A triad is three notes — root, 3rd, 5th; types are major, minor, diminished, augmented
- The guitar divides into string sets (1: E-B-G, 2: B-G-D, 3: G-D-A, 4: D-A-E)
- Three inversions × four string sets = 12 shapes that work in any key
- Use small closed-voice triads, moving to the closest shape, instead of big barre chords
What a triad is, and why the guitar is tuned this way
While everyone else strums a big C chord, you can get in on triad inversions and find tasty little rhythmic ideas. The guitar is tuned E, A, D, G, B, E precisely because, as the instrument developed, they wanted a layout that made triads relatively easy to play.
A triad is a three-note chord — the root, the third, and the fifth. There are major, minor, and diminished triads, plus the augmented triad, and they're the basic building blocks of music.
String sets
The guitar divides into string sets. Set one is the top three strings — E, B, G. Set two is B, G, D. Set three is G, D, A. Set four is D, A, E. On any of these sets it's relatively easy to play major, minor, and diminished triads.
Take a C triad — C, E, G. Isolate set one and find just those three notes. A full open C chord is also only C's, E's and G's, but with doubling; here we want just the three notes, no doubling.
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Inversions, major, minor, diminished
Stack C, E, G with C as the lowest note, and that's one position. Move up the neck and you find a shape with C as the highest note, then another with C in the middle. Those three positions are the inversions — the root on the bottom, on top, or in the middle.
From any major triad, lower the E (the 3rd) a half step to E♭ and you have the minor triad. Keep the C but move the other two notes back a half step and you get the dissonant, useful diminished chord. The same logic works in every inversion.
The math, and closed-voice triads
Here's the big picture. There are four string sets and three inversions, so 3 × 4 = 12 shapes. Learn those twelve and you've got it — and since they're shapes, they move to any key.
These are closed-voice triads (the notes squeezed within an octave). On a I-IV-V like C-F-G, instead of big barre chords, play a C triad, then move to the closest F triad, then the closest G. You move faster, you create melodic rhythmic riffs, and you become far more valuable to a band than someone just strumming a simple C.
