Note: due to issues posting this, I’m breaking it into smaller posts with no special formatting. The daily drills for Month 1 will be posted separately.

i had seen various classical and metal sites posting triad drills, so i decided to create my own. i am posting it here for those who wish to give it a shot... i am on day 11 as i post this, and my drill time has dropped from just under 10 min to 2 min.

time yourself each day. leave a comment with your progress and whether you found this helpful. i'll update with month 2 drills soon.

expand a section for more details.

why practice triads?

• you will learn the entire fretboard within 30 days.

• triads are the core of chords. strip a chord down to its triad and you better understand chord voicings and the relationship between chords

• triads are the core of arpeggios. learn how to connect triads to build any arpeggio

• build chords dynamically by adding additional nearby roots, thirds, or fifths to the triad

• free yourself from chord and arpeggio shapes

• the drill is short. it may take 10 minutes or longer when you first start, but it will soon take only 5 minutes or less. after two weeks i am able to complete the month 1 drills in 2 minutes (2 1/2 for flats and sharps).,

what is a triad

a triad is simply a three note chord consisting of the root, third, and fifth. major triads are root, major third, perfect fifth. minor triads are root, minor third, perfect fifth. dimished chords are root, minor third, diminished (flat) fifth. for example, the C major triad is C, E,G and the A minor triad is A, C, E while the B dimished triad is B, D, F

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triads can appear out of order. the base triad for G major is G, B, D. the notes can be rearranged to B, D, G. this is still a G major triad, but the notes are inverted. this known as the first inversion. you will also hear it called G/B, as it is a G chord with a B in the bass. the notes could also appear as D, G, B. this is known as a sendon inversion, and could also be called G/D

month 1 drills

goal: 

the goal in month 1 is to learn the fretboard the basic triads for every major, minor, and many diminished triad.

instructions:

you will be provided a daily triad and the notes in it. find the notes for the daily triad and all its inversions on the first 3 strings. the notes must be within one octave of each other.

for example, the triad of C major (C, E, G) can be played open G, first fret of B, and open E (G, C, E). once found and played, locate the next inversion of the triad (C, E, G) which can be found on the fifth fret of the G string, the fifth fret of the B string, and the third fret of the E string. finally, locate the next inversion, (E, G, C) located on the 9th fret of the G string, the 8th fret of the B string, and the 8th fret of the E string. you can continue the pattern above fret 12 if you like

note that G major, G, B, D should not be played as open G, open B, and D on the 10th fret of the E string as the d note is not within the same octave as the G and B. instead, the starting position for B major would be B on the fourth fret of G, D on the third fret of B, and G on the third fret of E.

once you have found all the triads on the G, B, and E strings, repeat the process for the D, G, and B strings. then the A, D, and G strings, and finally the E, A, and D strings.

take your time. time yourself. for the first week you can either a tuner or use the cheat sheet below if you get lost or need to check your answers. try to look for the notes instead of memorizing triad shapes.