Lesson 7 · Part 2, Distance has a shape

Major and minor

A major third and a minor third are one fret apart, and that fret decides whether a chord sounds major or minor.

The major third and the minor third

Major Third

Along one string — four frets up

E to A — one fret back

A to D — one fret back

D to G — one fret back

G to B — the same fret

B to E — one fret back

E to D, skipping one — six frets back

A to G, skipping one — six frets back

D to B, skipping one — five frets back

G to E, skipping one — five frets back

Minor Third

Along one string — three frets up

E to A — two frets back

A to D — two frets back

D to G — two frets back

G to B — one fret back

B to E — two frets back

E to D, skipping one — seven frets back

A to G, skipping one — seven frets back

D to B, skipping one — six frets back

G to E, skipping one — six frets back

On guitar, the major third is one fret back and the same fret when you cross to the next string, and four frets up along one string. On guitar, the minor third is two frets back and one fret back when you cross to the next string, and three frets up along one string.

The major third is shown above and the minor third below, on the same pairs of strings. Play one shape and then the other, and you will hear that only the distance between the notes has changed.

The root is the note a chord or scale is built on. When you stack a third on top of the root, you have already settled the character of the sound. A major third is four semitones and a minor third is three, so the two differ by a single fret.

That fret is the difference between a major chord and a minor one, and between a bright scale and a darker one. Nothing else needs to change, because the root and the fifth above it stay where they are. Much of what listeners hear as happy or sad in Western music comes down to this one distance.

On the neck the two shapes sit a fret apart, so switching between them takes the smallest movement a hand can make.