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Try it
Strum E major and E minor one after the other – the same root, once major, once minor.
The three notes of E major – tap them one by one:
What do you notice?
Which of the three notes changes between major and minor?
What it's called
Major and minor triad – Three notes: root, third and fifth. In major the third is four half steps above the root, in minor three.
Why
In E major the third is G#, in E minor it is G – a half step lower, one fret on the guitar. Root and fifth stay the same. Only the middle of the chord moves, and the mood flips.
Major sounds bright, minor dark.
Quick check
Major or minor?
Root on the low E string. All six strings ring along.
E – G# – B
Read from the thickest string to the thinnest.
There are exactly five basic chord shapes on the guitar - the open shapes C, A, G, E and D. Move one of them up the neck and let your index finger replace the nut, and the same shape becomes a different chord. That is why you find every chord more than once: same notes, different position.