Types of Guitar Chords

While there is a huge number of different chords out there (any combination of three different notes is a different type of chord), there are a few you should be particularly familiar with.

Diads

By definition, diads are not chords, a diad has two different notes, while a chord requires three. Power chords are made with the root note and its fifth, and you will likely hear people frequently point out the power chords are not in fact chords. That doesn’t make them better or worse by any means, just that they don’t meet the definition of a chord.

One quirk to this is that third diads tend to still be considered chords, since dropping the fifth doesn’t make a huge difference to the tone. It’s just a perception issue, but some people will still qualify them as chords, even with only having two notes.

Major and Minor Chords

These two are pretty much the staple variety of chords. The major chord has a happier sort of tone and consists of the 1-3-5 notes. The minor chord is a more somber chord using the 1-b3-5. The 1 note defines what the root of the chord actually is and the 5 chord is just there to round out and thicken the chord. The main reason these chords sound so different is which third is used. This is basically the flavor tone that gives the chord its quality, which is why that slight change makes such a big difference.

Many other types of chords, except for sustained chords, add notes to these two basic chords to give them different qualities. Not only are these chords excessively common, but many other chords still will use virtually the same shape.

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Sustained Chords

Sustained chords simply remove the third note from the major or minor chord and replace it with a 2 or 4 note. A sus2 chord is 1-2-5, while a sus4 chord is 1-4-5. These chords can sound a bit different depending on how they are used. If they are quickly swapped in and out for a minor or major chord of the same root, they tend to add interesting little fluctuations without really effecting tonality much. However, especially in lower registers, if you sit on them for long they can come off as a bit dissonant and sound a little out of place. These are really cool when used right, but there is a reason why you don’t see too many big sustained chords in a lot of progressions.

Add Chords

Add chords do just what they say, they add whatever note is listed to the chord. The quality they add varies on which note is actually added. Cadd9 crops up a lot because the open version of it is extremely easy to switch to and from an open G. Sometimes other add chords are used for ease, but mostly it is to inject a little extra to the feel of a chord.

These four types of chords are the most common ones a guitarist will encounter. There are a lot of others out there, but if you have these down, you should be very much ahead of the game for a good long time. If you get into more theory oriented music, you will likely have to learn a few of the more obscure chords, but most music doesn’t use anything but these types of chords.