How The Beatles And Pink Floyd Used Guitar Triads In Iconic Songs
by Simon Candy
In this lesson, you’ll learn how The Beatles and Pink Floyd used guitar triads to create some of their most iconic songs.
Most guitar players overlook triads, thinking they’re tiny, throwaway shapes—but when used correctly, triads can completely transform your chord playing.
And this isn’t just theory—The Beatles and Pink Floyd applied these exact shapes in their songs, giving their music a unique character and harmony.
Watch the video below to see these triads in action:
Why Guitar Triads Are Powerful
A triad is a three-note chord, and even though it’s small, it’s incredibly versatile.
You can play triads all over the fretboard for rich sounding voicings.
They’re perfect for adding colour, melody, and motion between chords.
When used in songs, triads can make simple progressions sound more interesting.
How The Beatles Used Triads
The Beatles often used small triad shapes to create memorable riffs and add melody to chord progressions.
For example, in “And I Love Her”, the triads in the verse give the chords a distinct melodic contour.
By playing triads on different strings and inversions, you can recreate that classic Beatles sound.
Tips for using Beatle style triads:
• Start with basic triad shapes
• Experiment with inversions on the top three strings
• Try combining triads with your strumming patterns for a fuller sound, or you can arpeggiate them
How Pink Floyd Used Triads
Pink Floyd often used triads to build lush, atmospheric textures on guitar.
They combined simple triads with open strings, slides, and phrasing to create their signature sound.
In “Comfortably Numb”, you can see how simple triads add movement and melodic interest to the chord progression in the chorus that otherwise might sound plain.
Tips for using Pink Floyd style triads:
• Explore triads in different positions across the fretboard
• Combine triads with ambient effects like delay or reverb
• Play triads in patterns that complement vocal melodies
How You Can Use These Triads in Your Playing
Now it’s your turn.
You don’t need to memorise hundreds of shapes—start with these tips:
• Identify the chords in your favourite songs
• Play triads on the top three strings to add melodic movement
• Experiment with inversions and different string sets
• Combine triads with strumming, fingerpicking, or riffs
• Make small variations to create unique fills and runs
Other Lessons You’ll Love
Explore these related lessons to continue building your guitar skills:
How to Master Triad Chord Shapes on Guitar
Expand your chord vocabulary with this guide to triad chord shapes on guitar. It covers major and minor triads on the top three strings, and gives you two training strategies to memorise them — by shape and by position.
Transform Your Guitar Solos with 2-String Triads
Enhance your soloing with 2-string triads on guitar. This article explains how these triads connect with 3-string shapes, how to visualise them across the fretboard, and how to apply them in real melodic situations.
How to Use Triad Chord Shapes on Guitar
Explore how to use triad chord shapes on guitar in real musical situations — this article breaks down three practical applications (picking, side-slip movement, and extensions/ornamentations) to help you go beyond just knowing shapes and start making them sound musical
How to Accompany a Singer on Guitar Video Workshop
Learn how to create a rich and dynamic guitar accompaniment for a vocalist — not just by strumming, but by weaving in rhythm fills, walking bass lines and varied chord voicings. This lesson shows you how to build the arrangement so it supports and complements the singer in a musical, expressive way.