Guitar Triad Shapes on Every String Set

Guitar triads can be played on any three neighbouring strings: G-B-e, D-G-B, A-D-G and low E-A-D. Each string set has its own three shapes (root position, first inversion and second inversion). The two lowest sets share identical shapes; the two sets that include the G and B strings each have shapes of their own.

Why learn more than one string set

Most triad lessons stop at the top three strings, which is where the guitar triads guide starts too. That's the right place to begin: the shapes are compact and bright, and they sit above the rest of a band. But a chord isn't tied to one register. The same C major triad exists on every set of three strings, and each set gives you a different weight of sound and a different place for your hand. This guide is part of the triad lessons.

Learning all four sets also means you're never more than a couple of frets from a usable C, G or D shape, wherever your hand is. That's what makes triads such a good tool for voice leading: you can move between chords on the strings you're already on.

Why the shapes change

A triad shape depends on the intervals between the strings. On the lower strings, every pair of neighbours is a perfect fourth apart (E to A, A to D, D to G), so the low E-A-D set and the A-D-G set produce exactly the same three shapes, one string apart. Learn them once, use them twice.

The G and B strings are a major third apart instead. The D-G-B set has that smaller gap between its top two strings, and the G-B-e set has it between its bottom two, so each needs its own shapes. If a triad shape that works on the low strings sounds wrong higher up, that one-fret difference is why. It's the same G–B shift that affects every interval shape.

C major on all four string sets

Each diagram below shows all three positions of C major on one string set, labelled by interval: R for the root (C), 3 for the third (E) and 5 for the fifth (G).

Frets are listed from the lowest string of each set to the highest. On every set the order up the neck is the same cycle — root position, first inversion, second inversion, then root position again — but each set starts the cycle at a different point.

Finding any triad by its root

You don't need to memorise every shape for every chord. One rule places all of them: the inversion tells you which string the root is on.

• Root position — the root is on the lowest string of the set.
• First inversion — the root is on the highest string of the set.
• Second inversion — the root is on the middle string.

So to play D major in first inversion on the A-D-G set, find D on the G string (the 7th fret) and build the shape below it. To play it in root position on the D-G-B set, find D on the D string (the 12th fret, or the open string). If you can find notes quickly on every string, as covered in the fretboard guide, every triad on the neck is a root and a shape away.

What each string set is for

G, B and high e: the lead set

Bright and clear, and sits above bass, keys and other guitars. The default for rhythm fills, funk and pop parts, and for marking chord tones in solos.

D, G and B: the middle set

Warmer and rounder. Useful when the top strings are too thin, or when another instrument already occupies that register. The second inversion here is a single fret across three strings, which makes it fast.

A, D and G: the full set

Fuller, closer to a strummed chord. Good for arpeggiated rhythm parts and for playing chords that need body without a full barre.

Low E, A and D: the low set

Heavy and dark. Muddy if strummed with distortion, but useful for riffs and for bass-led parts where you want the chord tones low.

Minor triads on every set

The rule from the top strings still applies: find the third and lower it one fret. In each C major shape above, the E becomes E♭ and nothing else moves. In the D-G-B second inversion at the 5th fret, for example, the E on the B string drops to the 4th fret, giving G, C and E♭ — C minor.

Because the low E-A-D and A-D-G sets share shapes, their minor shapes match too. Learn the minor versions on one and you have them on the other.

A ten-minute practice routine

1. Three minutes — one set at a time. Take the D-G-B set and play C major in all three positions, up and back, naming the lowest note of each.
2. Two minutes — the shared shapes. Play C major on A-D-G, then move the same three shapes down a string set to low E-A-D. Notice that they're identical and the chord becomes G, a fourth lower.
3. Three minutes — one area, four sets. Stay between the 2nd and 10th frets and find a C major triad on every string set without moving your hand more than a few frets.
4. Two minutes — progressions. Play C, F and G on the D-G-B set using the nearest inversion each time, then on A-D-G.

Spend a week on each new set before adding the next. When all four are comfortable, try the same routine with minor triads, or carry on to the minor CAGED shapes, where many of these triads reappear inside bigger chords.