Guitar Power Chords
Rock & Metal's Simplest Ingredient

The reasons they are used so much in rock, and have their own name is because of 3 main things:

1) They sound good with heavy distortion/gain.

2) They are versatile (e.g. you can change key like a psycho) because they have no major/minor/extended tensions! The tension can be created through inventive movements and key changes.

3) They allow for faster chord changes because the fingerings are so simple.

Below is how typical guitar power chords look on your fretboard (the yellow dots indicate where to fret the strings - I use my index finger for the root and my ring finger for the 5th)...

Let's go through a few exercises to increase your speed, rhythm and accuracy with guitar power chords.

Later on, we'll look at different types of power chord that create different sounds.

Make sure your gain is turned up!

So as a warmup we're going to play a simple riff comprising solely of power chords. You can use this one as a speed builder...

Click on the tabs in this lesson to hear them

As you can see from the tab, we're just moving that shape around those first 4 strings of the guitar to create the riff.

Now let's speed things up - try to use up and down strumming and keep your rhythm constant.

Good speed builder for the basic powerchord shape.

Remember, you can also use this shape on the D and G strings for a higher sounding power chord riff. Mixing high and low tones in a riff can make it more interesting and dynamic.

Try the exercise below using all 3 root strings...

Now a different type of power chord...

You can add an extra note to standard power chords as a lower octave of the 5th (see diagram at top of page for the "5th") by including the E string on powerchords played on the A and D strings

This makes the higher, A string power chords sound a little deeper and fuller...

Simply bar your index across those bottom 2 strings in the power chord and then use your ring or pinky finger as usual to fret the higher 5th.

This is a different type of power chord because the root note is not actually the lowest note like usual, but because of how the 5th harmonises with the root, the key stays the same. Think of it as a downward extension of the basic powerchord shape.

Listen to me play a regular powerchord followed by the meatier extended version from above...

TIP: this extended powerchord is great as a closing "chord" in a song because it has a large sound.

Use of rhythm is very important with power chords as there's a definite percussive element to them.

Here's a riff inspired by Velvet Revolver to demonstrate...

It's a good riff to practice when to fret and when to fill at speed.

There is another shape you can use which allows you to play powerchords with the characteristics of a lead guitar solo. Smoke on the Water is probably the most famous track in which this technique is used, in that opening riff.

What this shape allows you to do is use one finger at a time, barred across the two strings, and then quickly switch to another finger just like you would when soloing. You can accomplish a faster, more free flowing powerchord riff like the one below...

Click the tab to hear Another thing this shape allows you to do is hammer ons and pull offs (like above) and other lead guitar techniques.

Firstly, if you're unsure what drop tuning is, head over to the drop tuning page where you can tune up (...i mean down).

The only difference in fingering for drop tuned power chords is the bottom string and A string. The A and D string root-5th shape stays exactly the same, as it does on the D and G string.

Take a look and listen to the Drop D exercise below...

Powerchords don't just have to be played on three strings up the fretboard. Remember those open position chords you learned when you first picked up the guitar? They can be turned into power chords as well, and made more suitable harmonically for high gain/distortion.

AC/DC used these a lot for their vibrant and "big" sound under amp gain.

A 9th can be added to the standard root 5th to make a 9th power chord. This means we're adding the 9th note of the major and minor scale to the root and 5th (if you're not sure what that means, don't worry at the moment).

This chord is used quite a lot in traditional Japanese music - it's a very distinctive sound.

Here's how it would look on the first 3 strings at the 2nd fret of your guitar...

All you need to do is practice a few riffs with this chord anyway. Below are a couple of exercises with clean and distorted example clips...

Clean example

There is more to rock and metal than just power chords, but rhythm guitar power chords support the percussion and bass in such a satisfying way - they are simple but very effective.

Enjoy, and please do learn more using the links below...