I was surprised how difficult this was at first also. Changing my thumb position and rolling my index finger to use the edge more than the flat part helped me.
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Came here from Justinâs triad lesson in his theory course (which is worth the $ IMHO). In it he also talks about the shapes for strings 2 and 3 (and 4, 5, 6, but those are a no-no until youâve mastered 1, 2, and 3). Playing those 3 shapes on the first 3 strings is a real game-changer for jamming with someone else. Iâve found they sound really good not only with some delay, but also with some distortion. What he didnât cover in that theory lesson is the embellishments, which Iâm glad he covers here because theyâre awesome!
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If you keep muting the second string, it means your fingers are at the wrong angle. I suggest doing more âspiderâ exercises, or hammer ons.
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Yes thatâs the answer I was looking for! My middle finger is too fat, but using index finger across 3 strings helps a lot to get the 2nd finger to not mute!
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Whatâs the relationship between a barre chord and a triad. Justin uses the G barre chord as an example and the shows a G major triad but the fingering of both is completely different, I donât see how they are linked apart from âGâ!
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Also it appears to be that triads are only used with finger picking. Is that right? Any reason why these canât be strummed is used as a substitute for another chord?
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Triads are not only for fingerpicking or arpeggios. See Justins lesson in the next module: https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/triad-chips-basics-bg-1805
Iâm curious, what made you think that triads were only used with fingerpicking?
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Hi @Stuartw , if you consider just the 3 highest strings of a G barre chord, you will see a G triad. In other words the full G chord is fingered 355433, while the triad on the 3 highest strings (one of the 3 possible ones) would be xxx433.
The fingering will be more or less the same: a mini-barre with the index finger on the 2 highest strings and fretting the 3rd string with the middle finger.
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Exactly. The same applies to root 6 minor as well as root 5 major and minor chord grips.
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Because strumming wasnât mentioned in the lesson.
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Thanks. I see that now. Perhaps wasnât explained very well in the lesson 
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Also, where (or why even) would I use these in songs. Is there an example of a song that used triads?
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The first cut is the deepest
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Oh OK. Strangely I have been practicing this (not recently mind) but didnât realise they were triads, as one of the shapes is not the same as those shown in this lesson.
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There are also some recommended songs listed in this lesson: Triad Chips Basics
Another example I can think of are the verses of The Word by The Beatles. The chords played by the guitar in this song by Miles Davis are also triads, played on strings 2-3-4 and also 1-2-3 towards the end.
You can use these triad grips to play solos as well.
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Check out this recording of him playing https://youtu.be/KL_ut0oYkUw?feature=shared and you will likely recognise the triads
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Hi @Stuartw
I got a lot out of Richardâs triads club streams. It made the use of these finally get that âah-ha!â moment. He has nice resources to read through. I wish the video was there, but I donât see one.
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Hey Stuart,
Triads are absolutely everywhere in music.
They are commonly used in most songs, and are one of THE most important things youâll ever learn on a guitar; versatile, great sounds, numerous voicings etc; theyâll also â teachâ you the fretboard.
They are the "building componentsâ of all larger chords, including barre chords.
They are extremely versatile, and can be used to hold a solid rhythm, and /or equally provide a framework for a blistering solo.
They can also be seen as the linchpin between the harmony ( rhythm), and the melody ( lead)
Well worth devoting some considerable time to them, as the rewards are great.
Cheers, Shane
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Assume that I could also use 3 fingers for the major triad instead of 2?
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Iâm afraid I donât understand this.
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