Unit 2: Lead Clusters

Major Triads

Let's begin by finding 3 major triads based around the G, B and E strings. Knowing the shapes as well as how to easily find them is crucial here. We talk a lot about "root inversion", "first inversion" and "second inversion". The root inversion starts from the root, the first inversion starts from the major 3rd, and the second inversion starts from the 5th degree. The three triad shapes are based around the CAGED chord C, E and A shapes. Check out the fretboard diagrams and get these learnt before moving on.

Clusters

Now we have our major triads in place, let's add the scale shapes to those. The combination of the chord moving around with the scale shape gives us our clusters! The idea is to get the triad played, followed by the scale (see the fretboard diagrams) and then switch them to any key of the major chord you can think of. This way, when a major chord pops up in a track, you know that you can play the triad and scale together to create a really cool lead line!

Minor Triads

Let's now find 3 minor triads based around the G, B and E strings. Knowing the shapes as well as how to easily find them is crucial here. We talk a lot about "root inversion", "first inversion" and "second inversion". The root inversion starts from the root, the first inversion starts from the flattened 3rd, and the second inversion starts from the 5th degree. The three triad shapes are based around the minor CAGED chord Em, Dm and Am shapes. Check out the fretboard diagrams and get these learnt before moving on.

Clusters

Now we have our minor triads in place, let's add the scale shapes to those. The combination of the chord moving around with the scale shape gives us our clusters! The idea is to get the triad played, followed by the scale (see the fretboard diagrams) and then switch them to any key of the major chord you can think of. This way, when a minor chord pops up in a track, you know that you can play the triad and scale together to create a really cool lead line!

Application

Now we have all of the theory, let's get some really cool application, based around a simple chord progression. The chord progression is as follows:

In this chord progression, we have 3 chords that are diatonic to the key of C major: C major, G major & D minor. These are the root, 5th and minor 2nd degrees of the C major scale. The Bb, however, is non-diatonic, which means we need to be more considerate about our lead guitar over the top. This is a perfect application for our new knowledge. We play a cool lick based around each of the chord shapes, using our clusters. Use the tab to not only learn the part but also spot each of the clusters (The triad and scale pattern) we are using! Good luck! 😃