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Diatonic guitar chord and scale exercises

The illustrations to follow will explain how to use diatonic chords in your lead guitar playing. All diatonic chords are built upward in thirds. The key of C major has the following notes and chords, C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B dim and C. 

The 1st note in the key of C major is the C note, so the 1st, 3rd and 5th would be the C chord. C E G are the notes that make up the C chord.

The Dm chord would be the D F A. Em would be E G B. The F would be F A C, G would be G B D, Am would be A C E and the B diminished would be B D and F. All major keys would work the same way.

What I would like to do is show you a couple tricks learned that will help you determine major, minor and diminished triads in your guitar playing.

The guitar is really mathematical and can be very repetitious. Once you learn a certain fingering pattern, this pattern can be used all over the fretboard. For example, if we are playing in the key of C major, the notes would be C, D, E, F, G A and B and C.

These notes can be found all over the fretboard, but we can also break them up into patterns. To start things off, we need to play just the notes of each chord. We will learn the patterns of each chord in the key of the C major. The patterns will cover only the fingerings that start on the Low E string, A string or the D string.

You would use these guitar fingering exercises to play lead guitar. These illustrations are not intended to play chords, but the notes of each chord. I am only showing three notes of the scale. You will want to use the blank illustrations to figure out the complete scale.

Recommended fingering below.

1 = Index finger
2 = Middle finger
3 = Ring finger
4 = Pinkie

The three notes illustrated on the fretboard below are the notes of the C chord, C, E and G. All major chords can be played using this fingering pattern. These are also called arpeggios. You can play an arpeggios by playing the chord 1 note at a time. You can use this arpeggio technique in your lead guitar work. This fingering pattern will work for any major chord starting on the Low E string, A string or D string.

The illustration below, shows the notes of the C chord C E G. Notice the recommended fingering 2, 1, 4.

The illustration below shows the complete C major pentatonic scale at the 8th fret. Notice that the scale fingering pattern above 2, 1 and 4 are the C, E and G notes. Recall that the C E and G are the notes of the C chord. You can use this same fingering pattern to play over all the major chords by moving it to the note on the E string. By moving this fingering pattern to the G note, 3rd fret you would be playing G major pentatonic.

If you moved this fingering pattern to the 10th fret, it would be D major pentatonic. This is just one position to learn.

C major example: The illustration below is a simple example. Try to move this fingering pattern all over the guitar fretboard. For example, move this to the 3rd fret, A string and play over the C chord at that position. Notice the notes are of the C major chord are C E and G.

Start on the C note, 3rd fret, A string.

The illustration below shows the same fingering pattern but playing the notes of the F chord. F, A and C.

Repeat this for the C again, then go to the illustration below. 

The illustration below shows the notes of the G and then the F notes.

Play all three of the illustrations above as a lead. It's a simple lead, but this will get you moving around the fretboard. You can strum a 1, 4, 5 progression in C major and use the illustrations above. C, F and G progression.

You can use this same pattern to play at the 3rd fret for the C and F and 5th fret for the G.

Notice that both fingering patterns are the same, but the top illustration starts on the Low E string and the second illustration starts on the A string. Both patterns play the same notes, C E and G.

The next note and chord in the key of C major would be the Dm chord. The notes that make up the Dm chord are as follows, D, F and A.

The illustration below shows the fingering pattern for the Dm chord. You can play all minor chords along the A string using this fingering pattern. By moving this exact fingering pattern to the 7th fret, you would be playing the notes of the Em chord. Strum the Dm chord and then play these three notes one at a time. This fingering pattern will work for any minor chord starting on the Low E string, A string or D string.

The illustration below shows the notes of Em chord. E B G.

The illustration below shows the fingering pattern for the Em chord, notice that is is the same as the Dm chord, but it starts on the E note, 7th fret. Remember all minor chords can be played using this fingering pattern. You can use this fingering pattern on the Low E string, A string or D string.

To better understand what's going on, here's the same fingering pattern, one starting on the A string and one starting on the D string. Both patterns are playing the notes of the Em chord. E, G and B. Notice that they both have the same fingering pattern. All minor chords can be played using this fingering pattern along the Low E string, A string or D string.

The illustration below shows the notes of the F chord. F A C.

The illustration below shows the fingering pattern for the F chord. Notice that it is the same as the C chord above. All major chords can use this fingering pattern. You can use this pattern on the Low E string, A string or D string. The note you start on determines the chord. For example if you used this fingering pattern at the 10 fret, you would be playing over the G chord. Look below.

The illustration below shows the notes of the G chord. G B D.

The illustration belowt shows the fingering pattern playing over the G chord. Notice that its the same fingering pattern as the C and F above. Remember, you can use this fingering pattern to play over all major chords. You can use this fingering pattern by starting on the Low E string, A string or D string.

The illustration below shows the notes of the Am chord. A C E.

The illustration below shows the fingering pattern used for playing over the Am chord. Notice that its the same fingering pattern used for the Dm and Em above. You can use this fingering pattern to play over all the minor chords. Use this fingering pattern starting on the Low E string, A string or D string.

The illustration to the below shows the notes of the B diminished chord. B D F.

The illustration below shows the fingering pattern used to play over the B diminished chord. You can use this same fingering pattern to play over all the diminished chords starting on the Low E string, A string or D string. Remember the first note you start with determines the chord. The 3 finger plays the B note, the 1 plays  the D note and the 4 plays the F note. Pick each note one at a time. Use these fingering patterns in your lead guitar playing.

Assignments:

Use the blank illustrations to figure out all the patterns starting on the G string and B string.

Use the blank illustrations to figure out other fingering patterns of each chord. Play the notes of each chord, but start with the 1 finger, 2 finger, 3 finger and 4 finger.

Good luck,

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