Find Any Chord Instantly with Root + Degree
When you see “the such-and-such chord in such-and-such key,” use the root note's position plus the major/minor triad shape to find it on the neck in a second.
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- The Five Positions: Connecting the Whole Fretboard9 min
- The CAGED System: Linking Chords and Scales9 min
- Find Any Chord Instantly with Root + Degree8 min
- Relative Major/Minor & the Natural Minor Scale8 min
- Intro to Modes: Dorian and Mixolydian9 min
- Arpeggios: The Skeleton of Improvising8 min
- Seventh-Chord Shapes: Play Them All Over the Neck by Root String10 min
- Three-Notes-Per-String (3NPS): A Map for Fast Runs and Licks9 min
Two root-note systems
A chord's root note most often sits on the 6th string or the 5th string. Memorize the note positions on those two strings and you've got your “anchors” for locating chords on the neck.
Major / minor triad shapes
Given a root note, just apply the major triad shape (1-3-5) or the minor triad shape (1-♭3-5). The scale degree tells you which to use: degrees 1, 4, 5 are major chords; degrees 2, 3, 6 are minor.
Working it out in practice
Example: to play “the 2 chord in the key of G” → the 2 chord is minor, and its root is A → find A on the 6th or 5th string → apply the minor triad shape → done, no chord chart to memorize at all.
- 💡 Pair this with the circle of fifths (to look up the degrees) and you'll be much faster at figuring out songs, transposing, and improvising.
Practice checklist
- Quickly find the positions of the three notes G, A, and C on the 6th string.
- Say what the root note of the 5 chord in the key of C is, and whether it's major or minor.