G Major Triads Banjo Tabs
Exercises
G Major Triads Banjo Tablature: One Song, Many Styles
Recomended level: Beginner
A triad is a group of 3 connected things. In the musical sense, it is the 3 notes that constitute a chord. While we often learn 4 note banjo chords, there are only 3 notes in any major or minor chord. For example, a G major chord has the triad G-B-D, while the G minor has the triad G-Bb-D. In the following group of banjo tablatures and explanations we will not attempt to explain why that is, rather we will explain what all the different triads in the key of G major are and where to play them on the banjo
Chords can have several different qualities. Major chords generally have a happy sound, minor chords have a sound that's often described as sad. Diminished chords can sound spooky or anxious. Listen to the quality of sound each chord creates as you play through these. How do they make you feel? What do they make you think of? Do any pictures or emotions come to your mind? Try to catalogue those associations. They are important for developing your aural skill.
Since there are 3 notes to any triad there are also 3 orders in which those triads can be played. For example the G major triad, G-B-D, is said to be in root position when G is the lowest note. It is in the "1st inversion" when the chord is ordered B-D-G, and it is in the second inversion when ordered D-G-B. So, you will not only explore all the triads in the key of G major but also the inversions.
The key of G major has these notes, and these notes only: G A B C D E F#. Notice how the triad is formed. Root note, 3rd note away from the root, and the 5th note away from the root. That formula is how all the other triads are formed in G major. For example when we start on the second scale note A, the triad that is formed is A, C, E.
The triads in this exercise are all formed using notes of the G major scale. The pattern of chords for any harmonized major scale always produces chord qualities in this order: Major, minor, minor, Major, Major, minor, diminished. So, the triads for G major, which you can also see listed above each measure in these exercises, are G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, and F# diminished.
In music it's common to use roman numerals to represent the chords formed from the scale tones. Uppercase is used for major chords, and lower case is used for minor chords. Here are the chord "qualities" you get from a harmonized major scale: I ii iii IV IV vi vii°. The little circle after the roman numeral for 7(vii) indicates a diminished chord, which has a different quality than a minor chord.
Learn how to play G Major Triads on Banjo with this selection of tablatures:
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LearnG Major Triad Inversions
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
In this banjo tablature you will be able to clearly see all the different inversions of the G major triad on strings 1, 2 and 3. A triad is the group of 3 notes that form any major ...
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Learn
Diatonic Root Shapes
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
Diatonic means "of the scale". The triads in this exercise are all formed using notes of the G major scale. Follow the fingering suggestions listed in the banjo tablature. Lis...
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LearnDiatonic 1st Inversions
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
The "diminished" chord in measure 2 is very difficult to form if your technique is less than excellent. Feel free to listen and skip this one when playing through all of the triads....
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Learn
Diatonic 2nd Inversions
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
Diatonic means "of the scale". The triads in this exercise are all formed using notes of the G major scale. Follow the fingering suggestions listed in the banjo tablature. Lis...