Power Chord Progressions

One of my favorite is G D E C. Very your strumming repeat ad finitum.

Try some Deep Purple, like Speed King or Bloodsucker.

define power chord ;]

i just realized my question was in the wrong forum but hey i didnt make the post te he! the question still stands though ;]

A power chord is the root and the fifth. So to get a G power chord (labeled G5) you take the root and the 5th of the G major scale (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#) and you end up with the notes G and D. Though it's not technically a chord because it does not consist of three different notes, it's called one.

To form a major chord, you take the 1, 3rd and 5th . So to make the G major chord, you take the 1-3-5 of the G major scale (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#) and you end up with G, B and D.

Aww, ya beat me to it Mike! Thanks for posting that answer though, you defined it better than I could have!

Black Sabbath!! I highly recommend Master of Reality and Paranoid for power chord inspiration.

I read in a music theory book that progressions of consecutive power chords should be avoided because it creates "parallel fifths". What's the crack with that? :)

I read in a music theory book that progressions of consecutive power chords should be avoided because it creates "parallel fifths". What's the crack with that? :)

Not true - Read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_chord
Section on "The consecutive fifths criticism"

Basically it's saying that consecutive fifths is only a problem in 'voice leading'. That is, independent parts coming together in harmony. Power chords aren't formed as a result of independent parts, so no rule of harmony is broken.

Theory stuff beyond me....

But I like the power chord riffs of Rock You Like a Hurricane by the Scorpions, and Cocaine by Cream. Go google for 'em I'm too lazy to type it out here... They're pretty easy to play.

TZ

Black Sabbath!! I highly recommend Master of Reality and Paranoid for power chord inspiration.

Sweet, thanks! I'm not too familiar with Black Sabbath :oops: , but I'll give it a shot. Always looking for variety. I've found that a lot of Green Day songs are good practice for power chords and finger strength, but they get such a bad rep cause their songs are so simply constructed. Easy songs are the best. lol :P

I checked out the Wikipedia power chord article. Most of it's way above my head :( , but it did say that the inversion of the interval of a perfect fifth is a perfect fourth. How does that work? What do they mean by the inversion of the interval? :shock:

To invert an interval, you just raise the lower note an octave so that it's now the higher note.
For example the power chord consisting of 2 notes G (Str 6 fret3) and D (str 5 fret5) is a fifth because it includes 5 scale degrees (letters) G A B C & D.
If, instead of playing G on str 6 we move it up to str 4 fret 5, now we have a fourth because if you count up from D to G (intervals are always counted low to high) we have only 4 letters: D E F & G.
35XXX inverts to X55XXX
Deep Purple's famous power chord riff in "Smoke on the water" uses FOURTHS.

All intervals can be inverted and a quick way to do it is simply to subtract the number from 9
5ths invert to 4ths (9 -5 = 4)
3rds invert to 6ths (9 - 3 = 6)

Just for completeness, when we invert any interval:
Major intervals become minor and vice versa
Diminished intervals become augmented and vice versa
Perfect intervals remain perfect.

Thanks Fretsource, that explains a lot! That being said, I assume an inverted chord would sound horrible when played immediately after its original because you're going from a major interval to a minor one (or vice versa)

Thanks Fretsource, that explains a lot! That being said, I assume an inverted chord would sound horrible when played immediately after its original because you're going from a major interval to a minor one (or vice versa)
Not at all - you're playing the same notes after all. Remember that you're changing the root note by inverting.

There's quite a few songs where changing from a minor to a major chord of the same root note fits well too, but I'm not sure of the theory behind it and of course I can only think of one example now I've mentioned it - Delilah.