Sometimes, chords don’t act the way we want them to. So whether you’re struggling to hop to the next chord in a progression, or you’re a songwriter that likes to vary the sound of their chords without changing much about them—knowing your triads and chord inversions can be extremely helpful. It’ll take you from an amateur guitarist playing power chords over your favourite songs to being able to replicate those songs perfectly or even write your own.

Here, we’ll go over the basics of triads and chord inversions. Why are they important? How can you best use them? How do you get good at using them? If you feel daunted by music theory, don’t worry! As you read on, you’ll learn it’s not nearly as complicated as it looks.

Importance of understanding triads and chord inversions on the guitar

So what’s the big deal with triad chords and chord inversions? What exactly makes them so vital for you to learn as an aspiring guitarist? Well, you want to maximise your versatility, mastering minor, major, diminished, and augmented chords and their varieties for each key. So along with melody ear training and practising with a metronome, your sense of the music you play will expand.

Triads

Triads are chords made up of three main notes (third intervals) stacked on each other, also called a tertian harmony. For example, a standard C chord on the guitar is only composed of different C, E, and G notes. In this case, the “root note” is the C, often the chord’s lowest note. However, the root is not always the lowest note or the bass. Sometimes, the root will be elsewhere in the chord, as seen with inverted chords.

Learning all your triads is extremely important—this is how you play the most simple chords on the guitar. To do any chord inversions, you need to know your triads first. Inversions are simply a rearrangement of the notes within a triad chord.

Chord inversions

A chord inversion lets you play chords on any part of the fretboard. You can either move the chords up and down the fretboard or across the fretboard from the higher-pitched to the lower-pitched strings. To invert a chord, move the bottom note an octave up or down.

A first inversion is a major triad with its third note on the bottom. Meanwhile, a second inversion moves that third up an octave. So for the simple chord CEG:

• First inversion: ECG
• Second inversion: GEC

Combining triads and chord inversions

You need a lot of practice to learn and combine triads and chord inversions properly. Running up and down the fretboard to drill in each chord and its variations will help you automatically switch between triads and inversions. Start out with drilling C, F, Bb, and Eb to practise inverting triads before moving through the harder keys.

Tips for effective use of triads and chord inversions on the guitar

Here are three ways that you can best use triads and chord inversions:

• You can use chord inversions to build tension and lead into a new sequence or chord. For example, a first inversion is best at building emotion between one chord and the next. It’s often used to move between an I and an IV chord in a progression.

• While a first inversion is excellent for building emotion, a second inversion does the opposite. It can often be great to bring your music to a firm resolution. Try finishing off your progression with a second inversion and compare it to the typical alternative.

• You should know the difference between minor, augmented, and diminished triads when inverting them to maximise their effects. Sometimes, an inversion can replace making a minor, diminished, or augmented triad.

In conclusion

It’s essential to train yourself to recognise chords in their different forms when playing guitar. Whether you’re trying to use the entire fretboard efficiently or trying to play better by ear, most chords are made up of a few basic components: what triad they’re replicating and how they’re inverted (if at all). The different chord forms you can learn from practising chord inversions of triads can familiarise you with the shapes and sounds of each chord. It will prepare you for the more complicated forms you’ll encounter in the future as a musician.