What you will learn

We begin by breaking down exactly what a triad is and building a strong foundation with major and minor triads. You will learn how to see them as block chords, understand their inversions, and move between parallel and horizontal approaches across the fretboard. From there, we expand with suspended triads, including Sus2 and Sus4, and explore different ways of using triads melodically and harmonically. You will move beyond basic chord shapes and start seeing triads as a flexible tool for creating movement, melodies and accompaniment.

We then explore triads over different bass notes, showing how a simple triad can create completely different harmonic colors depending on the note underneath it. This leads into modal applications and practical demonstrations that show how triads can be used to outline and imply richer harmony without relying on large or complicated chord shapes.

A major part of the course is dedicated to spread triads. You will learn what they are, how they are constructed, how to visualize their intervallic structure across the guitar, and how to use them to create wider, more modern sounding voicings. Multiple performances demonstrate how these shapes can be turned into real musical ideas rather than simply learned as exercises. We also apply both block and spread triads to cadential movements such as I IV V, focusing on voice leading and learning how to connect each chord smoothly. From there, we explore ornamentation inspired by players such as Jimi Hendrix, as well as modal applications that show how triads can become a powerful tool for both rhythm playing and improvisation.

By the end of the course, you will be able to combine block triads, spread triads, inversions, voice leading, melodic ornamentation and modal harmony into your own playing, build modal loops and create complete musical environments using triads across the fretboard.