Dyads

Dyads are one of my favorite musical elements to make use of when I play guitar. You can use them for accompaniment or in lead work. Dyads are basically two note "mini chords". They contain two out of the three notes of a complete chord, or triad. For example, some voicings contain the root and the third while others can contain the third and the fifth. There are many ways to play dyads. You can play them on two adjacent strings like the first and second string or two strings with a string between them, like the first and third string. Dyads will sound great when the two notes are played simultaneously or one after the other. I find them very inspiring creatively.

Here is the tab for dyads in the key of G/Em. As a dyad implies a chord, I have added the chords on top of the tab to illustrate how the the two elements can be associated. Click on the image to download the PDF.

Here are some suggested fingerings (click on them to enlarge):

EG1

EG2

GA1

GA2

EB1

EB2

BG1

BG2

As you may notice, I haven't added the fingerings for all the sets of strings on the tab sheet. This is because the above fingerings can apply to the other sets of strings as well. For example, the fingering for the first and third string dyads is the same as the second and fourth string dyads. Also, the third and fourth string dyad shapes can also be used on the fourth and fifth strings and the fifth and sixth strings. There is so much you can do with them! Try experimenting with them and you will see...