In Position 3, the name note is the third string played. In this example the D is the name note because this is a D Chord. When we play a Position 3 chord, we are playing the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale in the following order:

1. The first string played is the 3rd note of the scale.
2. The second string played is the 5th note of the scale.
3. The third string played is the 1st note of the scale.
4. The fourth string is always the same note as the first string played but an octave apart.

For instructional purposes we are not playing the lower (E and A) strings.

In Position 3 we are playing 2 – 3′s, 1 – 5, and 1 – 1. This applies to any chord in Position 3 anywhere on the neck of the guitar. Whenever you are playing any chord from Position 3, you are playing 3 5 1 3 in this order.