Guitar Triads
Here’s something most guitarists never get told: every chord you play is really just a triad — three notes, a root, a third and a fifth. Everything bigger is built on top of that. And those three notes, rearranged into their inversions, will cover the entire fretboard from one small, movable shape.
That’s the thing barre chords and CAGED never show you. You learn five grips, memorise where to plant your fingers, and never see that it’s the same three notes leapfrogging up the neck. Once you do see it, triads stop being something to memorise and become something you understand — and you can grab that chord anywhere, on any group of strings, and target any chord tone in a solo.
This tool lays it bare. Pick a root, a quality and a set of strings, and watch the three inversions climb the neck, each note colour-coded so you can see the root, third and fifth swap places but never change. It’s free, nothing to install, and it works on your phone right next to the guitar.
How to use it
Choose a root note, a chord quality (major, minor, diminished or augmented), and one of the four three-string sets. The tool shows that triad’s three inversions across the neck, with each note coloured by its job — root, third or fifth. Step through the inversions one at a time, or hit “All” to see them leapfrog up the fretboard. Watch the colours: it’s always the same three notes, just re-stacked so a different one sits on the bottom.
Three notes, three inversions, the whole neck
A triad is the smallest complete chord — root, third, fifth. An inversion isn’t a new chord; it’s those same three notes with a different one underneath. Root position has the root on the bottom; move the root up an octave and the third’s on the bottom (first inversion); do it again and the fifth’s on the bottom (second inversion). Three notes, three ways to stack them, and then you’re back to where you started an octave higher. Learn those three little shapes on one set of strings and you own that chord across the entire neck — and you can land on any chord tone you want when you solo.
Why string sets matter
Triads live on three adjacent strings, and they sit differently on each group — E-A-D, A-D-G, D-G-B and G-B-e — because the guitar isn’t tuned in even intervals. Learning the same triad on different string sets is how you stop being trapped in one area of the neck and start hearing chords and melodies wherever your hand happens to be.
Who it’s for
Players who know their barre chords but have never seen what’s inside them. Anyone moving from strummed chords toward chord-melody, triad-based comping or playing the changes. Guitarists who want to understand the fretboard instead of memorising one more shape.
This tool shows you triads on the neck. Guitar Hacks: Triads and Inversions is the full method — how triads are built, every inversion on every string set, and how to drill them until the whole fretboard opens up.
Get the book →Once triads make sense, use them to solo. Melodic Triad Soloing turns these shapes into lines — targeting chord tones and following the changes the way the great players do.
Get the book →