Have you ever wondered why a particular chord is what it is?
In this video I’ll teach you the notes that go into a G major chord, as well as C major. You’ll see that major chords are built on the I, III, and V notes out of the scale. One of the things to watch out for is that when you change chords, you change root notes. What I mean by this is on the G major chord, the G is the I, and on the C major chord, the C is the I.
I explain all of this in a lot more detail in my Guitar Theory Unlocked course, however hopefully you’ll be able to learn something from this video too.
Let me know your thoughts on this kind of teaching video – it is my first experiment using a tablet to relate guitar theory, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it!
The use of the tablet was helpful. However, when I played the lesson I heard 2 voice tracks, one a few seconds delayed. A bit distracting!
thanks that is heipful
great lesson on how to find the notes that make up a chord
Little confused.
uou discussed I, III, V intervals
The website on the board was I, IV, V
Hi Fred, that’s a great point. The course is called I IV V because those are the three main CHORDS in every key, however they are derived from the number system for scales.
With I, III, V, those represent the NOTES that are needed in the chords.
The course is really about learning how the number system controls the notes in the chords, the chords in the keys, the scales in the keys – basically everything is wrapped up in the number system, and understanding it is the key to understanding your guitar.
great start ,looking for next
Jonathan I’m not newbe but this a very interesting way to visually explain it Thanks. Swany from Wisconsin
.. On the piano it is easy but the fretboard throws me a curve. When do I know to move up a string or along it to count the intervals?
Thanks…
Hi Glo, think of the fretboard as 6 keyboards laid out one in front of the other, arranged so each is a fourth further away from the center point. Each string is like the keyboard, flattened out so there aren’t any black or white keys… all the white keys are a fret, and the black keys are also a fret, in the same order.
So when you want a G note, pick a string, and count up from the open note in the same way you normally would, but according to semitones. For instance, on the 6th string, start on E, then F, then F#, then G on the 3rd fret.
In the example in the video, I showed how to build a G major chord, using essentially this technique. The chord comes out of the notes in the scale, so that reduces the options available in that key, which is handy.
Hope that helps…
I have the 1 4 5 course which is excellent. However it is nice to have little refresher
courses to help out wonderful lesson and as always thanks for the tips.
After watching this lesson, I really want to know more and will purchase your I iv, v soon.Thanks
Nicely done, real good review, short and sweet…
I would like to purchase the course but am at work so don’t want it to go to my work computer. I am in the process of upgrading my home system so I don’t want to have it sent to my home computer yet. Can it be sent to my home email and stay there until my upgrade is complete?
Hi Dean, once you purchase, you will be given a username and password which will allow you to login and view or download the lesson from any computer you choose. So you could easily buy on one computer, and then later on download the course to your other computer.
Hi Jonathan
Enjoyed the diagram explanation. Do you also show the fretboard for left handed players also?
Nick