Guitar Chords: Major Chords

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Major Chords

By far, major chords are the most used type of chords in popular music. They carry an upbeat, hopeful, full sound. They lack any hint of mystery, sadness, fear, funkiness or anything of the like.

We are able to figure out the position of every major chord based on our intervals and our root note. The root note is what defines the chord. So, a C chord will have C as the root, B chord has B and so on. Very simple.

The structure of the chord is also simple.

The major chord formula is: 1 - 3 - 5

So the root is 1, it tells you what chord letter to assign like A, B, C, D , E, F or G.

The 3 is a major third above that:

A = C#
B = D#
C = E
D = F#
E = G#
F = A
G = B

And the 5 is a perfect fifth above 1:

A = E
B = F#
C = G
D = A
E = B
F = C
G = D

So together the Major Chords are as follows:

A = A - C# - E
B = B - D# - F#
C = C - E - G
D = D - F# - A
E = E - G# - B
F = F - A - C
G = G - B - D

A Chords

B Chords

C Chords

D Chords

E Chords

F Chords

G Chords

So there you go, there are many positions for each of the major chords. Next we’ll look at the minor chords and their, structure, feel and positions.

The chart below shows the pattern for all of the tonics (1) - the 3rds and the 5ths on the fretboard.

TAN= the tonic or 1
BLUE= the 3rd
RED= the fifth

If you can find the tonic you can find the distance from the 3rd and 5th. So any combination of these 3 notes on the fretboard creates a major chord for that tonic. Look at the chart and try to figure out as many possible fingerings for a major chord as you can. If you look at the chord charts above, you see them in the chart below.

major chords

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