There are many different types of chords.  The most common are called triads.

A triad is a chord that contains three different notes.

To understand how chords are built, we return to the major scale.

Take the first, third and fifth notes from the C major scale and you will have a C major chord.

 

When you take 1-3-5 from the major scale you have a major triad.

The C major triad consists of C-E-G.

Let’s look at another example.

G major: Formula -> 1 3 5

Take the first, third and fifth notes out of the G major scale.

G major:

G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G

Therefore the notes in a G major chord are:

 

G    B    D

1     3    5

In our next tutorial, we will look at how to build major chords on the guitar fretboard.