Power chords can be fun and easy to play.
You can hear them in all types of music, but most people
associate them with rock.
Power chords are not really chords. Chords
are 3 notes or more, whereas power chords 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, and the octave. Basically they are just like playing
perfect 5th intervals and doubling up a note or two.
Power chords are easy to play just about
anywhere on the neck, but lend very little harmonic texture
to a song. They do not have a major or minor third interval.
A chord needs this interval in order to make it a major
or minor chord.
If you're playing a song with a lot of
distortion, strumming a full chord might create too much
dissonance. Plus if you have a fast chord change, it's
often easier to use power chords for the really fast
part. Beginners will overuse them due to their convenience,
but if used in moderation they can come in handy.
No Substitute For Learning The Real Thing
A lot of players get caught in the power
chord trap. They learn how to play power chords but fail
to learn the real chords. This is a major mistake. Just
because you can play a C power chord does not mean you
know a C chord. As we said before, they aren't really
chords anyway.
Learning chords is one of the most important
things a guitar player can do. It does not matter what
style of music you are interested in, you cannot avoid
learning your chords! Failing to learn them will mean
that you will fail as a guitarist in the long run.
Now that we have that out of the way, here
are the power chords:
6th String Root Power Chord
Read about the fret/chord chart for this
chord pattern below.
Fret/Chord Charts
Depending on what fret you play will determine
what the name of the power chord is. You can find out
it's name by looking at the fret/chord chart below. If
you listened to my advice in the "Getting Started" section
then you may not need to use the chart, because you already
know the notes on the guitar.
The name of the chord can be determined
by the root of the chord. The root is simply the
lowest note in the chord. For instance, if we played
the above chord pattern where the root of the chord falls
on the 5th fret, we would be playing an A chord. If we
played the chord pattern on the 12 fret, it would be
and E chord.
