Classic Rock Triads
Let's face it—the topic of triads can rapidly devolve into a big yawn fest, especially when presented using only boring, textbook-ish exercises with no commonplace
Classic Rock Triads
Let's face it—the topic of triads can rapidly devolve into a big yawn fest, especially when presented using only boring, textbook-ish exercises with no commonplace applications. This is a sad situation, as many students of the guitar and music theory never fully grasp the powerful potential of these three-note wonders. Well, cheer up, class! The revered classic-rock catalog is a virtual treasure trove of highly musical triadic applications. So grab your Les Paul, Strat, Tele, or SG, and let’s get going!
STRINGS 1-3
We’ll start with triad voicings on the top three strings. Ex. 1 shows the four basic triad types—major, augmented, minor, and diminished, all built from a D root note: D major (D-F#-A; root-3-5); D augmented (D-F#-A#; root-3-#5); D minor (D-F-A; rootb3-5); and D diminished (D-F-Ab; root b3-b5). The first triad in each group is in root position (root-3-5), followed by first inversion (3-5-root), and second inversion (5-root-3). (Note: the scope of this lesson deals only with close-voiced triads, wherein all three notes deals only with close-voiced triads, wherein all three notes are played as close together as possible.)
Our first music example (Ex. 2) is in the style of the Who’s Pete Townshend. Widely respected as one of rock’s most influential rhythm guitarists and songwriters, Pete has gotten quite creative with triads, especially when casting them against John Entwistle’s pedaled bass lines, in such Who classics as “I Can See for Miles,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Sparks” and “Substitute.” The riff shown here is based on a I-V-IV-I (D-A-G-D)progression in the key of D, played over an open-D string pedal. The C#dim triad in the second ending