How to Play Power Chords
Do you want to be a Rock God? You'll need to learn Power Chords. "What are they?" you might ask. Well, Power Chords can be two or more notes that are played together. Maybe you are thinking, "Why should I learn them?" Most rock and punk songs use Power Chords because they sound super cool on an electric guitar with some distortion. Rock legends knew this, and some people say that Pete Townshend of the Who was the first to coin the term Power Chords. He used them quite often on “My Generation” and “Baba O’Riley”- two massively successful Power Chord songs.
So if you want to jam like a true rock star (Rock God!), Power Chords will be an essential part of your playing.
The good news: Power Chords are the easiest chords you will learn. These are easier than learning open chords! I suggest you learn Power Chords before you learn open chords, because it will give you a good foundation of root notes and music theory. When learning your guitar chords, these should be the first you learn. These are the easiest to understand and require less finger dexterity than other chords.
If you are just learning to play the guitar, throw your acoustic in the closet and pick up an electric. Yes, this may seem crazy, and you might ask, "WHY?"
Because there are two reasons people give up on learning the guitar:
1. It hurts your fingers
2. Learning the notes on the guitar just seems way too complicated.
Starting with an electric guitar solves number 1. Electric guitars have very light strings, which are very easy to press down on. They don’t hurt your fingers as much as a steel string acoustic, and they sound way cooler than a classical guitar. Plus, Power Chords sound awesome with an electric and some distortion.
Throwing on AxeTape™ and using Power Chords solves #2. Power Chords can be moved up and down the neck of the guitar without changing your fingering. All you have to know is the notes on a guitar. That’s where AxeTape, comes in. You just throw AxeTape on your Axe, and the next thing you know, all the notes pop out at you. With AxeTape, you can play all the Power Chord progressions easily.
Power chord songs: Check out www.ultimate-guitar.com This site kicks some butt! Look up AC/DC, Metallica, Sum 41, Blink 182, Nirvana... these bands are all heavily into the use of Power Chords.
Just to get you started below is a quick Power Chord chart referencing the two most common Power Chord shapes. These are noted in music by the number 5, or the 5th note, such as the A5, B5, C5, etc. With this you can find the F power chord, the C power chord, etc. Again, these can be used up and down the neck of the guitar using the index finger as the root.
The root note determines the name of the chord; notice the root note is circled:
So if you want to jam like a true rock star (Rock God!), Power Chords will be an essential part of your playing.
The good news: Power Chords are the easiest chords you will learn. These are easier than learning open chords! I suggest you learn Power Chords before you learn open chords, because it will give you a good foundation of root notes and music theory. When learning your guitar chords, these should be the first you learn. These are the easiest to understand and require less finger dexterity than other chords.
If you are just learning to play the guitar, throw your acoustic in the closet and pick up an electric. Yes, this may seem crazy, and you might ask, "WHY?"
Because there are two reasons people give up on learning the guitar:
1. It hurts your fingers
2. Learning the notes on the guitar just seems way too complicated.
Starting with an electric guitar solves number 1. Electric guitars have very light strings, which are very easy to press down on. They don’t hurt your fingers as much as a steel string acoustic, and they sound way cooler than a classical guitar. Plus, Power Chords sound awesome with an electric and some distortion.
Throwing on AxeTape™ and using Power Chords solves #2. Power Chords can be moved up and down the neck of the guitar without changing your fingering. All you have to know is the notes on a guitar. That’s where AxeTape, comes in. You just throw AxeTape on your Axe, and the next thing you know, all the notes pop out at you. With AxeTape, you can play all the Power Chord progressions easily.
Power chord songs: Check out www.ultimate-guitar.com This site kicks some butt! Look up AC/DC, Metallica, Sum 41, Blink 182, Nirvana... these bands are all heavily into the use of Power Chords.
Just to get you started below is a quick Power Chord chart referencing the two most common Power Chord shapes. These are noted in music by the number 5, or the 5th note, such as the A5, B5, C5, etc. With this you can find the F power chord, the C power chord, etc. Again, these can be used up and down the neck of the guitar using the index finger as the root.
The root note determines the name of the chord; notice the root note is circled:
