This is all based on the shape of a regular open D chord. In this instance it’s the note on string 1 that makes all the difference in terms of defining whether or not the chord is Major, minor, Sus2 or Sus4. The notes that don’t move are the root note and the note on the 3rd string. Get comfortable with shape 2 before moving on to shape 3…. This is all based on the shape of a regular open E chord. Just by moving that blue note we have 4 different chords. The root note (red) and the 5th note (black) are static, and the notes on the other string (string 3 this time) move up and down a fret to define whether our chord is Major, minor, Sus2 or Sus4. This is all based on the shape of a regular open A chord.Īs you can see in shape 2, just like shape 1, two of the notes don’t move. If you are happy with shape 1, we will apply the exact same principle and learn our 2nd shape. If you are unsure or want to see the individual diagrams take a quick look over part 1 of this series.Īs you can see, the root note on the 3rd string doesn’t move, neither does the note on the 1st string. What I have done for clarity is shown all 4 chord shapes laid out on one chord chart. You may not have seen a chord chart laid out like this before. If you recall, our first shape looks like the following. Make sure you are clear on this as it’s a really important concept to be able to grasp. Notice that when the note on the 2nd string is played at the lowest fret marked on the diagram, the chord becomes a sus2, a fret higher it becomes minor, a further fret higher it becomes Major, and a further fret higher it becomes sus4.
It is the B note that we change to change the name of the chord. G, A, B, C, D, E, F#.Ī G Major chord is formed from the 1st or the root which is G, the 3rd which is B, and the 5th which is D.ĭuring our chord variations as shown in the diagrams, the 1st and 5th which are G and D do not move. A ‘sus’ chord is a chord where the 3rd note is replaced by either the 2nd or 4th note from the scale.
If you move the note that makes the chord a Major triad up one more fret, you now have a sus4 chord.
Notice, you move this note up 1 fret to turn a minor triad into a Major triad and vice versa. The 3rd note is the one we are moving up and down a fret to change the name of the chord (Major, minor, sus2, or sus4). That is the root note (shown in red on the diagrams) the 5th note (shown in black) and the 3rd note (shown in blue). Learning the theory makes everything come together in a useful and practical way for y’all.Ī killer 3 string chord or a triad is a chord that is formed from 3 different notes. This will allow us to truly free up the fretboard and save us from having to make big jumps up and down to play certain chords.Įfficiency as well as killer sounding chords is the name of the game.īefore we get going on this lesson, now is the time to get nerdy and explain the theory behind what we are doing. Now, it’s time to expand our repertoire and play the different chord types but now with 2 more shapes. Phew…If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, check them out as you are best to follow this series in order. So far we have learned 4 variations of a killer 3 string chord, learned how to apply rhythm to them, created melodies while playing a chord to create the illusion of two guitars, applied the techniques to a super popular chord progression and learned 8 little ditties using the techniques. Welcome, dear Guitar Ninja, to Part 3 of our series of Killer 3 string chords. Johnny Marr at the AIM awards 2019 by Jwslubbock, licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)