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.
