POWER
CHORDS
By
David Tan
What
are they?
Power chords
are basically chords with only two notes of the key: the first
and the fifth note. Thus in some situations they are referred
to with symbols of D5 and E5 etc. Technically however they are
not chords as chords are comprised of at least 3 notes (if you
are confused by this don’t worry, it doesn’t really
matter. People call them power chords anyway).
They are usually
used with distortion when wanting to give more drive to the song.
An example of a genre that uses power chords as their staple is
punk rock with songs like American Idiot by Green Day that is
comprised totally of power chords (jokes abound that it is the
only chord punk rockers know). It is especially useful if you
enjoy using high gain distortion, where playing open chords will
sound messy.
It would be
a good idea to learn basic chords, be able to read tab and to
know the names of the guitar strings (EADGBe) before reading this
lesson.
Below are
3 ways to play an A power chord (which are actually all almost
exactly the same)
Power
Chords are Movable
The great thing about power chords is that they have the same
shape regardless of where they are played (except for G and D
strings. For that, look below). What key the power chord actually
is, is based on the lowest note of chord. This is because the
lowest note of power chords are the 1st /tonic note of the chord/key.
For example, the lowest note of the A power chord is on the 5th
fret of the low e string(1st string). The 5th fret on the low
e string where the power chord is played is an A note.
To make it even simpler, what I am saying is that you find the
1st note of the key (A for A maj/min, B for B maj/min, C for Cmaj/min).
Once you have found it on the fret board, you base your power
chord shape on that.
The exception
to this rule is when playing the 3rd way because your lowest note
is the fifth note of the chord not the first. To avoid confusion
when playing the 3rd way, look for the correct fret for the 2nd
way and then just play the top two notes of the 2nd way. In other
words, base playing the 3rd way on the shape of the 2nd way.
A good way to be able to play power chords when seeing any chord
is to memorise the notes on the guitar fret board for the low
E and A strings right up to the 12th fret. I usually do this by
basing my position on the frets that have dots (e.g. the 3rd,
5th and 7th frets) . People usually play power chords on the first
two strings(E and A).
The
Change of Shape
The first
bar features a sliding of a D power chord to an E power chord
(notice that the 5th fret on the A string is a D note and 7th
fret on the A string is an E note). The 2nd bar is using an A
power chord and sliding it down to a G power chord.
Applications
Replacing
Open and Bar Chords
Well, the
easiest way to use power chords is to just play it! For example
you have a song with a progression of Em-C-G-D and you want to
play it with distortion. Instead of playing the normal open chords
try playing the progression with power chords.
The beautiful
thing about power chords is that the same one can be played for
both minor and major. This is because the fifth note in the scale
for both minor and major keys are always the same. So let’s
say you have an E minor chord, if you want to play it with power
chords you play an E power chord. What if you have an E major
chord? You play an E power chord as well.
Power
Chords as an Open Chord
An interesting
concept that is usually used by acoustic guitarists and which
you can incorporate into your playing is playing power chords
as an open chord (however not with distortion). I usually do this
with power chords on the A string. What you do is play the chord
(for example the B power chord) but play the open B and high E
strings as well.
Take
the following example:
It is using
a progression of B-C#m-E using the power chords and playing the
open B and high E strings
Picking
Power Chords
Another concept
that you can try is to pick power chords note by note. Whether
this is done with distortion or clean is up to you. The following
example is based on E minor and is played clean. Here it is:
It
starts of with an E power chord (Bar 1), and then a F# and G power
chord (Bar 2) and ends with a D# power chord (Bar 3 and 4) with
and extra F# note on top.
Muting Strings
When playing
power chords on the A string it is very important not to play
the E string on top. To mute it there are generally two ways.
The first one which I recommend is to mute it by using your index
finger to slightly touch the low E string with the tip of your
finger as you play the power chord.
The second
way is to use your middle finger to touch the low E string while
you play the power chord. However make sure your middle finger
does not press it until it makes sounds. Just slightly touch it
so that it is muted.
Alternatively,
you can use your picking hand to palm-mute the string.
