HI, just recently joined and some of you might have read my 'hello' post on the Meet n' Greet board. As I said, I've started some guitar lessons to see how they go but I see them being more of a supplement to teaching myself than as a stand-alone. Aaaanyway -- I've learned some regular chords so far and was very happy when my 'Rock Guitar for Dummies' book arrived yesterday. I just got to the section about Power Chords and this is where I'm running into some confusion and really hoping someone can help me understand this bit.
The book (Rock Guitar for Dummies) says that Power Chords are 'two or three-note chord that contains only the root and the 5th degree of the chord. A two note power chord contains the root on the bottom and the fifth degree on the top. A three note power chord is built (from the bottom up) as root, 5th, root so it has a root at the bottom, the 5th on top of that, and then the root again, one octave higher than the chord's lowest note.'
The explanation's all well and good up to the part where it starts talking about 5th -- what's that all about? I think I have an idea, but not sure ... I'm reminded of when I asked my teacher why the new chord I learned was called E7 and how it was different than plain old E.
This kind of leads to my next question -- there's some examples to play along with, it tells you which Power Chord to play but explicitly how to do so (I suppose this is why reviews suggest buying 'Guitar for Dummies' as well and I might just do that). For example, F5 - says 1st fret, 6th string based. That part I get, first finger on the first fret sxith string ... which finger(s) go on which other string(s). I feel like I should be able to figure this out given the info I have but instead I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall of notes.
You might find the very first section, called "Taking the Fifth" of the following Guitar Noise lesson helpful:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/building-additions-and-suspensions/
Rock Guitar for Dummies is a bit misleading in saying "the degree of the chord" when what it really means is "the degree of the major scale." Simply put, a "power chord" uses the root note and the fifth note of the major scale in question. E5, or an E power chord if you will, is E (the root note of the E major scale) and B (the fifth note of the E major scale). C#5 (a C# power chord) is C# (the root note of the C# major scale) and G# (the G# note of the C# major scale). If you'd like a breakdown on how to figure this part out, check out our lesson here:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/the-power-of-three/
As far as the string positions, that's based on where the root note of the power chord is located, not necessarily on where your index finger goes. The following text is from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Rock Guitar and you may find it useful. It doesn't have illustrations (my apologies for that) but I've added some explanations that will hopefully help. I've also placed the sidebars that came with the text in "quotes" so they hopefully don't distract from the main part of the reading:
Where's the Root?
Let's examine the two-string E5 chord a little closer. The root note, E, is the open E string. The “5†note (B in this case) is on the second fret of the A string.
Looking at the two-string A5 power chord, you can see the same pattern. The root, A, is the open A string and the 5 is the second fret of the D. You also know from our earlier discussion of three-string E5 chord that this note at the second fret of the D string is E. So E is the fifth of A5. That information will be handy later.
Did you notice a pattern to these chords? The 5 note for both is on the next higher string, two frets up the neck. If you remember from our earlier discussion that the E is a “Root 6†chord (the root note being on the sixth string) and the A is a “Root 5†chord, you might assume that this “root / 5 note†relationship could apply to any note along the fifth and sixth strings.
Why not test this out? Pick any note you want on the low E (sixth) string. How about the one at the fifth fret? You already know from Chapter 2 (which teaches how to tune your guitar) that this note is A. Place your index finger on that note. Now place your ring finger on the seventh fret of the A string. The ring finger is one string higher and two frets up the neck, so this should be the 5 note. Strum those two strings and see if they don't sound just like the A5.
DEFINITION
Most power chords are also moveable chords. This means that you can place the shape of the chord anywhere on the neck and end up with another chord. For instance, if you take the A5 power chord shown in the next illustration and shift it up the neck two frets, you will have a B5 power chord.
You're probably thinking, “I know that the 5 note of A5 is E because I just read it three paragraphs ago. So if I place my index finger on the seventh fret of the A string and then put my ring finger on the ninth fret of the D string, I should have a new version of the E5 chord.†And you'd be absolutely right, as you can see in the following illustration:
(Here there is an illustration of E5 being x79xxx and A5 being 57xxxx)
When you play the same chord at a different spot along the neck of the guitar, you are giving that chord a new voicing. You will find out that every chord you learn can be played in multiple places on the fretboard and this choice of voicing can be very important especially if you're playing with other musicians.
Stretching Out
Even though these power chords are simple, beginners can find this two-fret stretch a bit much to handle at first. You will probably find it easier to start practicing this power chord shape higher up the neck where the frets are spaced closer together. Begin with your index finger at the tenth fret (which means your ring finger will be at the twelfth fret), as shown in the following exercise:
(Here there is a music example in tablature that is described in the following text.)
Gradually work your way down one fret at a time. When the stretch becomes too wide for you and your fingers start to hurt, stop. Relax and shake out your hand and go back to the tenth and twelfth frets and start again. Today you may only be able to get down to the fifth and seventh frets. But if you try this out every day, edging yourself a little further along as you get more and more comfortable, you should be able to make the biggest stretch (the first and third frets) within a week.
Filling Out the Power
As you're working on the previous exercise, you can also start giving your power chords a little more oomph by turning your two-string power chords into three-string versions.
You've already had a taste of three-string power chords. If there's a trick to them it's in deciding how to go about fingering the chord further up the neck. Look at these two three-string versions of the E5 and A5 voicings you played earlier:
(Here there is an illustration of three-string versions of E5 x799xx and A5 577xxx)
The typical way to play these involves your pinky. First, as shown on the A5 (Root 6) example above, you start out just as you did with the two-string version, using your index finger on the root note (fifth fret of the low E string in this case) and your ring finger on the 5 note (seventh fret of the A string). Then simply drop your pinky onto the seventh fret of the D string.
If using your pinky feels awkward, don't give up! Chances are you've not been using it all that much (unless you've been diligent about the “one finger one fret†warm up exercises) and you are going to want that finger available for duty.
But another way many guitarists play three-string power chords is to lay the ring finger a little flatter so that it covers both notes on the A and D strings. Then use the tip of the index finger to fret the root note on the low E string.
Some players will lay the ring finger totally flat since they know they don't want to hit the higher strings anyway. All that practice hitting just the strings they want to must be paying off!
Ideally, you'll want to be able to use either of these methods to play three string power chords. Use the “stretching exercise†from earlier this chapter in order to get yourself used to making the stretch of three-string power chords.
The Four String Model
But why stop at three strings when you can have four? Any “Root 5†power chord can be changed into a four string power chord by adding the note on the sixth string that's on the same fret as the root note on the fifth string, like this:
(Here there is an illustration of the four-string version of E5 7799xx)
To play a four-string power chord, you want to lay out your index finger so that it covers both the fifth and sixth strings. For the D and G strings, you can use either two fingers (I suggest the ring and pinky, respectively) or use the ring finger to get the notes on both those strings.
Again, you want to use the “stretching exercise†from before to help you get acclimated to these power chords. The idea is to feel that you can make any power chord, whether two, three or four string, at any point along the neck.
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Anyway, I hope this helps. If you've more questions, don't hesitate to post them here on the forum or email or PM me directly. Welcome to Guitar Noise, by the way. Looking forward to seeing you around on the boards.
Peace
Many thanks for the reply -- now I just need to properly read and digest it (along with the apple pie my Other Half has just made)! Forums are great for these burning questions that come up when a) face to face teachers aren't around and/or books haven't yet learned to answer questions :lol:
