A chord is a combination of two or more notes played at the same time. They’re built on a single starting note called the root. You can create chords from all twelve notes. There are also four basic types of chords in music. For an example, we’ll use G as our root to demonstrate each type of chord:

Major – Has a major third and a perfect fifth above the root

Minor – Has a minor third and a perfect fifth above the root

Diminished – Has a minor third and a diminished fifth above the root

Augmented – Has a major third and an augmented fifth above the root

These shapes are the most common type of chords, and they’re called triads. A triad is a chord made of three notes. Triads have a root note, a third (four half-steps above the root), and a perfect fifth (seven half-steps above the root). Triads are also the foundation for more complex chords, which we’ll explore later in Guitar Super System.