The Building Blocks of a Triad (Guitar Lesson)
What are you waiting for? Get your membership now!
The Building Blocks of a Triad
Join Don as he breaks down the intervals that go into making a major or minor triad.
Taught by Don Ross in Play Songs By Ear seriesLength: 24:42Difficulty: 1.5 of 5
Video Subtitles / Captions
Supplemental Learning Material
Play Songs By Ear
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsYour ears can be one of your most valuable assets as a musician. In this series, Don is going to show you how to translate what you hear into what you play. This series is designed to build your confidence and equip you with the valuable skill of playing music by ear.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Don gives an overview of what to expect from this series.
Length: 4:20 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
The Sound of the Major Scale
Utilizing the visual element of a piano keyboard, and your ears (of course), Don walks through the intervals of the Major Scale.
Length: 12:09 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Semitones and Whole Tones
As we begin to look at intervals, we start with the smallest classified interval, as semitone, and will look at 2nd and 3rd intervals as well.
Length: 18:52 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
The 4th & 5th Intervals
Don continues to explore the concept of intervals, now looking at the 4th and 5th scale degrees.
Length: 16:46 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
The 6th & 7th Intervals
In this lesson, we're going to look at the last two intervals in a Major Scale, the 6th and 7th.
Length: 15:06 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Memorizing Intervals
In this lesson, Don teaches some helpful tools for memorizing the sound of the intervals.
Length: 11:06 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
The Building Blocks of a Triad
Join Don as he breaks down the intervals that go into making a major or minor triad.
Length: 24:42 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Recognizing Major and Minor Chords by Ear
In this lesson, Don works on the skill of hearing the difference between a Major and Minor chord.
Length: 14:27 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
The Major I, IV and V Chords
In this lesson, Don examines three chords that are perhaps the most ubiquitous chords you'll find throughout mainstream music. Learn to recognize these chord intervals by ear.
Length: 10:29 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Recognizing the I, IV and V Chords by Ear
Continue strengthening your ear with Don with some listening exercises based around the I, IV and V chords in C Major.
Length: 9:53 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Overview: The Chords of C Major
Building off of what we've learned about the major chords in C Major, Don walks through all the diatonic chords and lays the groundwork for building progressions.
Length: 17:30 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Listening Exercise: Chords Sequences
Using our chord knowledge, we will start working on recognizing chord changes by ear through a number of listening exercises.
Length: 25:35 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Transposition
Transposition, is a vital skill for any versatile musician. In this lesson, Don introduces the basics and demonstrates how it's done.
Length: 13:01 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About Don Ross
View Full Biography
Don has toured regularly since 1989, across Canada, the USA, a dozen European countries, Japan, Taiwan, China, Australia, Russia and India. He has played with symphony orchestras in Canada and Germany, and collaborated live and on recording with Andy McKee, Canadian singer/guitarist Brooke Miller, & Toronto bassist Jordan O’Connor. He also composes scores for television, radio and film, and does production and recording engineering for a variety of other musicians. In addition to acoustic guitar, Don also plays electric guitar, slide dobro and lapsteel guitar, voice, piano, keyboards, bass guitar and drums.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Eve Goldberg
Eve talks about the boom-chuck strum pattern. This strum pattern will completely change the sound of your playing.
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kailana Nelson
Mark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jim Deeming
Jim discusses the importance of setting goals. He provides some tips that will help steer your practicing in the right direction.
Free LessonSeries Details
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries Details
Phil Keaggy
Welcome to the Phil Keaggy Master Course! In this series introduction, Phil shows and tells us what we can expect from this...
Free LessonSeries Details
Orville Johnson
Orville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.
Free LessonSeries Details
Miche Fambro
Miche introduces several new chord concepts that add color and excitement to any progression.
Free LessonSeries Details
Justin Roth
In this lesson Justin introduces his series on playing with a capo and dishes out some basic tips, including how to properly...
Free LessonSeries Details
Trace Bundy
Trace Bundy talks about the different ways you can use multiple capos to enhance your playing.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Tony MacAlpine
Free LessonSeries Details
Brent Mason
Learn Nashville style country guitar from one of the most recorded guitarists in history. Check out rhythm grooves, solos,...
Free LessonSeries Details
Joe Burcaw
Join Joe as he shows one of his favorite drills for strengthening his facility around the fretboard: The Spider Technique.
Free LessonSeries Details
Michael Ripoll
Michael "Nomad" Ripoll dives deep into the rhythm & blues, funk, and soul genres that were made popular by artists like Earth...
Free LessonSeries Details
Evan Brewer
Evan Brewer explains everything you need to know in order to get going with your bass guitar. Topics include the parts of...
Free LessonSeries Details
Dan Sugarman
Dan Sugarman gives us an introduction and preview to his series - Sugarman's Shredding Revolution.
Free LessonSeries Details
Prashant Aswani
Do you want to play more musical sounding solos? Do you want to play solos with more emotion behind them? Maybe you're the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Tom Appleman
Tom Appleman takes a look at a blues in E with a focus on the Chicago blues style. The bass line for Chicago blues is very...
Free LessonSeries Details
David Ellefson
David Ellefson, co-founding member of Megadeth, explains his overall approach to teaching and learning bass in this introductory...
Free LessonSeries DetailsJoin over 516079 guitarists who have learned how to play in weeks... not years!
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.Take a minute to compare JamPlay to other traditional and new methods of learning guitar. Our estimates for "In-Person" lessons below are based on a weekly face-to-face lesson for $40 per hour.
 |
||||
| Price Per Lesson | < $0.01 | $4 - $5 | $30 - $50 | Free |
| Money Back Guarantee | Sometimes | n/a | ||
| Number of Instructors | 89 | 1 – 3 | 1 | Zillions |
| Interaction with Instructors | Daily Webcam Sessions | Weekly | ||
| Professional Instructors | Luck of the Draw | Luck of the Draw | ||
| New Lessons | Daily | Weekly | Minutely | |
| Structured Lessons | ||||
| Learn Any Style | Sorta | |||
| Track Progress | ||||
| HD Video | - | Sometimes | ||
| Multiple Camera Angles | Sometimes | - | Sometimes | |
| Accurate Tabs | Maybe | Maybe | ||
| Scale/Chord Libraries | ||||
| Custom JamTracks | ||||
| Interactive Games | ||||
| Community | ||||
| Learn in Sweatpants | Socially Unacceptable | |||
| Gasoline Needed | $0.00 | $0.00 | ~$4 / gallon! | $0.00 |
Mike H.
"I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar!"
I am 66 years young and I still got it! I would have never known this if it had not been for Jamplay! I feel like a 12 year old kid with a new guitar! Ha! I cannot express enough how great you're website is! It is for beginners and advanced pickers! I am an advanced picker and thought I had lost it but thanks to you all, I found it again! Even though I only play by ear, I have been a member a whopping whole two weeks now and have already got Brent's country shuffle and country blues down and of course with embellishments. Thank you all for your wonderful program!
Greg J.
"With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace"
I'm a fifty eight year old newbie who owns a guitar which has been sitting untouched in a corner for about seven years now. Last weekend I got inspired to pick it up and finally learn how to play after watching an amazing Spanish guitarist on TV. So, here I am. I'm starting at the beginning with Steve Eulberg and I couldn't be happier (except for the sore fingers :) Some day I'm going to play like Steve! I'm self employed with a hectic schedule. With Jamplay I can fit in a random session when I have time and I can go at my own pace, rewinding and replaying the videos until I get it. This is a very enjoyable diversion from my work yet I still feel like I'm accomplishing something worthwhile. Thanks a lot, Greg
Bill
"I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students."
I am commenting here to tell you and everyone at JamPlay that I believe this is the absolute best site for guitar students. I truly enjoy learning to play the guitar on JamPlay.com. Yes, I said the words, ""enjoy learning."" It is by far the best deal for the money.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.I'm really enjoying this series. Don is an amazing instructor. Love how he builds upon each lessons putting it all together step by step making it all really easy to understand. Using the keyboard is extremely helpful as well. Great job Don!!
This is an excellent lesson! His use of a piano keyboard truly helps simplify and clarify his points and explanations. Fun sense of humor, too. Thanks, Don!
Great great great series. Perhaps the most important course I've taken.
Loving this series :)