Guitar Lessons

Power Chords

Power chords are a lot of fun and easy to play. You'll hear them in almost every type of music but are primarily used in hard rock and heavy metal guitar playing.

Power chords are not really chords however. Chords are 3 notes or more, whereas power chords can only have 2 different notes. A more correct name would be "power intervals" because they only contain two different notes. Usually power chords are composed of the root, a perfect 5th interval, and the root note doubled at a higher pitch (called an octave). Basically they are just like playing perfect 5th intervals and doubling up a note or two.

Basic Power Chords

Not to over simplify Rock N’ Roll but a huge variety of music is based on two patterns: The blues vamp and the power chord. Blues vamps and power chords are just names for rhythmic patterns and chords. Today were looking at the power chords.

What is a Power Chord? Power chords are "movable chords", meaning we can move their position up or down the neck, to create different power chords. It’s the same shape just starting in a different position. The power chord contains two notes, the root note, and a note called the "fifth". Power chords are known as "fifth chords" (written C5 or E5, etc). Power chord are not a Major or Minor in tonal quality. The sample below is a power chord in TAB Format.

E-------------

B-------------

G-------------

D-------------

A----3--------

E----1--------

The first fret on the Low E is an F so this is and F5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the Low E and A strong.

E-------------

B-------------

G-------------

D-------------

A----7--------

E----5--------

The fifth fret on the Low E is an A so this is and A5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the Low E and A strong. Notice this is exactly the same shape as the F5 just move up one step or two frets.

In both of these examples we are looking at power chords with the root note (the one that names the chord) on the Low E or sixth string. The same chord shape can be played with the root note on the A or 5th string.

E-------------

B-------------

G-------------

D----9--------

A----7--------

E-------------

The 7th fret on the A string is an E so this is and E5 Power Chord. In this case you want to play only the two notes on the A and D string, and mute the note on the Low E with the tip of your finger pressing down on the 7th fret of the A string.

The following Power chords are the same chord but played in different positions on the fret board. Confused?

E-------------

B-------------

G-------------

D----9--------

A----7--------

E-------------

E-------------

B-------------

G-------------

D-------------

A----2--------

E-------------

Don’t be. Play around with these cool little chords. Add some distortion to your amp and play the notes with all down strokes while alternating string mutes. This is the basic techniques used in most hard rock, metal and grunge styles of Rock N’ Roll.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Visit our site for over 60 free guitar lessons and our Free eBook on playing guitar.

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Power Chords And Distortion

Power chords are probably the most commonly used chords in modern commercial music. Power chords are easy to play chords that only require the use of 2 or 3 fingers to play. Power chords are just like regular chords however they sound very powerful and thick. For new guitarists, power chords are often the quickest route to playing popular music on the guitar without a lot of training or practicing. Power chords are "movable chords", meaning we can move their position up or down the neck, to create different power chords.

Chords consist of 3 notes or more, whereas power chords only have 2 different notes. Power chords are easy to play just about anywhere on the neck. Some musicians think power chords lend very little harmonic texture to a song. However, many musicians have successfully compiled millions of famous notes using power chords as the means of producing the music.

Power chords have been popular since the birth of blues music, but when grunge music started to rise in popularity, many bands chose to use power chords almost exclusively, instead of more traditional chords. You can hear them in all types of music, but most people associate them with rock. This is because power chords are generally used more often in pop, rock, blues and heavy metal music.

One of the most popular ways of learning guitar is to use guitar lessons online. Back in the old days, people did not have the option of learning guitar online, so the only way to learn was to listen to records and try to emulate the sound or to take lessons. This is a good option if you are trying to teach yourself, and it can also go well with having lessons from a teacher if you choose to utilize it.

There are plenty of free guitar lessons online, but the trouble with many of them is that there is no structure to the learning. Some of them seem to be vague in their presentations while others objectives can be seriously questioned. Nevertheless, it is an inexpensive way to familiarize your self with learning to play. You can still learn to play without paying the price as if you were having private guitar lessons.

Power chords are often best understood and read easiest when written in the form of tablature. Many people have learned to play the guitar using only a basic knowledge of tablature. This is proof of the value of this for of music reading and note playing. To many it is the written choice of understanding and reading of guitar power chords. Easy tablature guitar books have the chords to the songs included in them and are extremely basic. There are plenty of tab websites online now where you can download any tab to a variety of songs.

Tablature takes the six strings of the guitar and transfers them horizontally onto paper allowing the user to easily emulate and comprehend the fingering of the exact tone desired for the chosen song. Take a look at the guitar tab from a particular solo in a song that interests you. Then, play the song while looking at the tablature and following along with the song. This will indeed assist your experience while using tablature and help you to learn the licks to your favorite song.

Rock guitarists use the power chord because it allows for much greater levels of distortion without causing the dissonance associated with other chords. If you are playing a song with a lot of distortion, strumming a full chord might create too much dissonance. On the other hand, power chords sound great with lots of distortion.

Similarly, when minor or major chords are used with distortion, the relative intensities of each note's overtones form an unpredictable difference in frequencies, which results in dissonance. Or, you might say the notes fall outside the prevailing harmony of the selected piece being performed. This often happens through inadequate amplification or other electronic processing. To the point, the rationale behind a power chord is that when playing distorted electric guitar, the rich palette of overtones are brought out by the distortion.

Power Chords are movable chord shapes that can be played in any position on the fret board. Power chords are common in heavy music, as well as many other musical styles. Power chords are the first weapon in the arsenal of many guitar players especially those into rock, pop, blues, and heavy metal. A good way to practice with power chords is to download and learn to read tablature which can found online. Power chords allow for greater distortion while still maintaining sound integrity.

Author Allen Newsom operates an online musical accessory store at: http://stores.ebay.com/Top-Shelf-Accessories/

His other articles can be read on his Music & Guitar websites at: http://www.emusicguides.com and http://www.guitar-domain.com

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