Intro to Major Chords

Remember what I said about the scale degrees? WELL, that applies to here as well. Play a major scale - the regular "1 2 3 4 5 6 7" pattern. Now isolate the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes in the scale and play them. That's a major chord!

e|-------------------------| Since the 1st and

B|-------------------------| 3rd note lie on

G|-------------------4--5--| the same string,

D|----------3--5--7--------| we must adjust

A|-3--5--7-----------------| our scale pattern

E|-------------------------| formula.

   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  *

*-octave of 1

alternate major scale pattern

e|-------------------------| 

B|-------------------------|  

G|----------------2--4--5--| 

D|-------2--3--5-----------| 

A|-3--5--------------------|  

E|-------------------------| 

   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  *

*-octave of 1

It seems that we still face a problem...or do we? The 3rd and 5th degrees share the same string, BUT I KNOW YOU ARE SMART AND WILL FIGURE THIS OUT. You know that D|5 is the same note as G|0, right??

BINGO

Here's your major chord

   C                              C

e|---| But it would sound more  |-0-|
B|---| complete if played like  |-1-|
G|-0-| this                     |-0-|
D|-2-|                          |-2-|
A|-3-|                          |-3-|
E|---|                          |-0-|

Due to the fact that the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the C major scale are C, E, and G, adding more of the same notes help the chord sound more "whole", if you will.

Have fun.

   A   B   C   D   E   F   G

e|-0---2---0---2---0---1---3---|

B|-2---4---1---3---0---1--(3)--|

G|-2---4---0---2---1---2---0---|

D|-2---4---2---0---2---3---0---|

A|-0-------3---0---2-------2---|

E|---------0--(2)--0-------3---|

You can literally play hundreds of songs, just by knowing how to play 3 or 4 chords.

HERE IS A PRIME EXAMPLE