Major vs. minor
A major triad is a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth — it’s the bright, resolved sound behind most pop and folk. A minor triad swaps the major third for a minor third, one fret lower, and the same shape turns sad. That single half-step is the whole difference between a happy chord and a moody one.
Why open shapes look the way they do
An open chord shape is just the fingering that lets a triad ring out across all six strings using open (unfretted) strings wherever possible. Some strings get muted (“x”) because the note they’d ring at isn’t part of the chord. Once you can name the notes in a triad, every open shape you already know stops being a shape to memorize and starts being math you can predict.
Quick check1 / 6
What chord is this?