Learn how to play Triad Chips on the guitar!

Triad Chips are incredibly useful for Blues, Pop Music, and Soul. They're just a really common kind of second guitar part! We call them Triad Chips because they're like little slices of the chords. :)

💡Arriving now at JustinGuitar Grade 3 Course? Before starting this lesson, you should complete my tutorial on Arpeggiated Triads! We learned the triad shapes on the thinnest three strings and worked out how to find their root note! We'll review it a bit during this video, but I'd strongly recommend you've checked that out before starting this one.

Let's look at Triad Chops and how to get these chords playing nice and tight short, not sustaining!

Playing Triad Chips

Start with an A Major Triad: we're on the fifth fret because there's the root note A! Your first finger covers the thinnest two strings, and your second finger is down one fret higher than the first finger on the third string. The trick here is to play them very shortly:

Play the chord, then relax your fingers immediately afterward, but don't let them off! You'll get some open strings ringing out if you completely lift your fingers from the fretboard, which we don't want.

When recording this lesson, I noticed that my third and fourth fingers touched the thickest strings. That's something I probably do all the time! My fingers lift a little bit when I press the chord down and immediately go down, so as my first and second fingers relax, the third and fourth fingers go down to mute all the strings. That motion should help you, and notice that we use the outer part of your strumming hand, muting all of the strings.

Now, take your time to practice this new technique. Start with the A Major Triad doing some up strums! Practicing that motion and ensuring you get it right is your first step before thinking about a specific rhythm pattern.

Rhythm Pattern

Once you're comfortable with the mechanics to play nice, tight, and staccato triads, you should work on some rhythm patterns. The one I used in the intro of this tutorial isn't great for Blues, but it's a very common one in lots of other styles. We play on beats two and four using down picks to do it!

💡 A great chord progression to practice this is G, C, G, and D - the same one we used to learn our arpeggiated triads. You should also be familiar with Minor Triads by now, and they also work here! Explore it and see how it goes.

Notice that my strumming hand moves slightly like I'm strumming because that's important for giving it the right feel. Keeping the strumming hand moving all the time helps you lock into the groove.

One of my favorite patterns for Blues doesn't emulate the backbeat, but it sounds great! Experiment, but remember that if you're doing a two-bar sequence, you'll need to change chords sometimes mid-way through that sequence at the end of the 12 Bar Blues cycle. It depends on whether you're playing a Quick Change Blues or a Slow Change Blues. Check out the video tutorial to count it along with me. You can even bring your guitar. :)

What Now?

It's time to experiment with Triad Chips and get creative! I'd encourage you to keep your ear out, listening for examples in the real world that you can copy. Experimenting and playing some real-life songs that use Triad Chips is a powerful exercise.

💡Play along with JustinGuitar Lessons & Songs App! You'll find thousands of guitar karaoke for you with the chords coming up on the screen. A great idea is to choose some beginner songs where the chords are real simple, like only A, D, and E, and jam along with them!

Jamming in real life is even better, so if you have a jam friend, don't hesitate to try some guitar duets. It takes your musicianship to the next level!

Real-Life Examples

🎧 You Better Move On - The Rolling Stones (They come in at 0:46)

🎧 Crazy - Patsy Cline

🎧 Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye

🎧 Respect - Aretha Franklin

🎧 The Wanderer - Dion

🎧 Wait On Time - The Fabulous Thunderbirds

👉 Up for more? JustinGuitar Grade 3 Course elevates your guitar skills! Don't miss out on the other lessons. :)