Want to play riffs that sound professional and work in country, rock, or almost anything else? Let me show you inverted thirds. It’s a fancy name for something that’s actually pretty simple.

This lesson is part of our guitar riffs series.

A chord like G is built on thirds. G, B, D. That’s your G major chord. Now here’s the trick, boys and girls. You flip it. B becomes the lowest note. G comes up high. Suddenly you’ve got an inverted third. Works great on the 3rd and 1st strings of your guitar.

For related lessons, check out country guitar riffs and Fortunate Son double stops.

Build Your G Major Chord Scale

The G major scale has seven chord tones: G major, A minor, B minor, C major, D major, E minor, F# diminished. But let’s talk about the pattern. Major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, and that last one. You can substitute F# diminished with F# minor and it works fine in rhythm guitar.

Now take those inverted thirds and run them up the fretboard. Every position gives you new combinations. Throw them over your chord changes. Play G with C, G with D. Watch how those inverted thirds sit underneath. They lock in real nice.

The 3rd and 1st strings are your friends here. They’re close together. Your hand fits comfortable. You get height and width at the same time. That’s what makes this technique work so well for rhythm guitar.

Use this in country, use it in blues, use it anywhere you need a guitar riff that sounds polished. The pattern stays the same but the notes change as you move up. Keep your ear open. Listen to how it works with each chord change.

Head over to our for more rhythm ideas. And check out our posts on country guitar riffs and Fortunate Son double stops to see this technique in action.