Triads as Chord Progressions

Choosing Voicings

If you were playing the above, what chord voicings would you choose? Maybe you would pick open chords. But you might also play one of the two possible barre chord voicings: one with the "D" chord starting on Fret V, and one with it beginning on Fret X. You could also just use power chords or some of the CAGED chord voicings.

What if we decided to uncover as many sequences of these four triads as possible? How many are there? Using the closed-position triads, we could create at least 12 more possibilities. Before proceeding, let's establish some rules of study:

Hands-on Practice

"Rules" for voice-leading

1. Leave no possibilities unexplored. We'll map out 12 new progressions.
2. Start and end on a D chord.
3. Keep all motion between triads to a bare minimum; keep all common tones. Ex: for the G chord, the note "D" will remain where it is.

Tips for voice-leading

• Chord progressions generally sound smoother and more natural when fewer notes move (voice-leading)
• Chords tend to sound good if they are not too high or low, so the triads on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th string are useful
• The chord progression itself has a big impact on voice-leading. Chord progressions that move in seconds or sevenths have the least voice-leading opportunity. Consider D^-7 to E^-7 (DFA to EGB). No common tones, and poor voice-leading. See Chord Progression Cycles for more details.

Let's begin with the root position major triad on the lowest three strings. Starting with the D major triad at Fret X, try to name the notes of the chord and create each next chord in the most efficient way possible. You should finish the sequence by arriving at another D major chord in its first inversion.

Example Chord Progression

D

G

E-

A

D

Key Tasks

1. Voice-lead the chord progression D, G, E-, A, D starting on every possible closed D triad that you can find. Since there are four sets of three strings, and there are three different inversions of each chord, you should be able to find 12. (4×3=12)
2. Voice-lead your favorite chord progression following the same rules. You might be surprised what you can discover.