G Major Triads - Inside Strings Banjo Tabs
Exercises
G Major Triads - Inside Strings Banjo Tablature: One Song, Many Styles
Recomended level: Beginner
These triad exercises will be played on the "inside strings". Strings 2, 3, & 4 are sometimes called that because they are "in-between" or "inside" the 1st and 5th strings.
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 banjo chords that require us to fret 4 different strings, 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. Focus on learning the shape and getting familiar with the sound.
There are a few different types of triad: major, minor, diminished and augmented. We will not focus on the augmented here. Each type has a characteristic sound or flavor, these are often referred to as the chord quality. 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, which is "spelled" 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 with the G major scale: Root note, skip, skip. For example when we start on A we will get A, C, & E which forms another chord. The triad formed from the second note in the scale will have a minor quality. That pattern will hold true with every major scale type in any key.
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 - Inside Strings on Banjo with this selection of tablatures:
-
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 2, 3 and 4. A triad is the group of 3 notes that form any major ...
-
LearnDiatonic Root Shapes
- 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....
-
LearnDiatonic 1st Inversions
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
The triads in this exercise are all formed using notes of the G major scale. Follow the fingering suggestions listed in the banjo tablature. Listen as you play each triad. Don...
-
LearnDiatonic 2nd Inversions
- Difficulty
- Key G
- Tempo 60 bpm
- Tuning gDGBD
The triads in this exercise are all formed using notes of the G major scale. Follow the fingering suggestions listed in the banjo tablature. Listen as you play each triad. Don...