After several weeks of hard work and busy days with my career, I finally had my free time to pursue this blog that’s been neglected for a while. Sorry for the delay and let’s move on to this new lesson that I’m about to teach you with these tutorials about guitars that we love so much. As you can see in the title of this lesson, this is actually an advance guitar playing. Power chords are a technique or style that most rockers use to compose thick, crunching, and bombastic sound which you can hear in their songs. For beginners, this is actually one of those easy task that you can learn less than a minute if you pay attention to what I am about to say.
Two or Three
Typically, power chords consist of two or three fingers, depending upon the player what fingers and position how he/she will play it. But, you can play all those chords with only two fingers. It is more of an easy way to do it. The only difference about it is its sound that it can give you when you strum how many fingers you will use. If you will use three fingers, then it will deliver bolder sound. Why? Because if you do that, you’re also using more notes and that also means, you’re using more strings (of course!), that is why.
It is advisable to use your pointing and pinkie when you’re doing a power chord. It is more comfortable than using your pointing and your middle finger regarding this. If you will use three string (depending upon how you will play the guitar), it is advisable to use your pointing, ring, and your pinkie finger. You can also see the reason why if you will try it now or sooner when you had the time to practice and play your guitar.
Bass strings only
This is also an important thing to consider about power chords. Basically, a power chord is done in the bass part of the guitar or strings 6, 5, 4. The two strings 1, 2 will not be considered here and you need to make the string dead (no sound) when you hit a power chord. But, guitar expert can use all the string while doing those power chords that you can see in the chart.
These chords are useful if you intend to play fast songs with genres like punk, metal, and etc…, which does fast tempo with their music. However, it will also depend upon your skill how to play a specific song in a guitar. So, if you’re just trying to learn guitar and likes to play music like this, you must prefer these chords instead of doing basic chords that you can learn in the chart. You will have a hard time if you’re doing it (basic chords), trying to play a song with fast switching guitar chords. But, it will again depend to you.
Chords with bar/flats can be a power chord
It is, and if you’re having a hard time making those chords with bars/flats, then you should try to learn this. It is pretty simple and this will require you to use your three fingers to make this possible. Beginners in guitars struggle how to make particular chords likes these sound smooth and not muted. This is the part what makes beginners lose their hope that they can actually play and learn the guitar. And the reason that is making this difficult is because they can’t make the correct position of the pointing finger in the fret board to do the flat/bar that is required for the chord.
That is a big problem for a beginner, right? So, how would you eradicate that troublesome flat/bar that’s bugging you to do that chord needed to play the whole song? Simple! Instead of doing that stuff (bar/flat), you can use power chords and convert that chord to it. The process is simple, and you only need to change how your pointing finger will press the chords. Instead of laying your pointing finger flat to those six or five strings, you can actually do that equivalent chord by only pressing the number six string or the number five string. For example: if you’re doing an F chord, you only need to press the number six string. And if you’re doing a B chord, you will only press the number five string and since a B chord uses string number two, you will also need to ignore and stop pressing the number 2 string, since a basic power chord doesn’t need to use a string number 1 and 2. Always remember that the string in the tip of your pointing finger, when you’re doing a flat/bar, if you want to convert it to a power chords, you only need to hit that string and you are done.
Dead strings
Dead string is one of the most important parts of these chords styles. This will make the sound of your playing more precise and smooth in the ear of your listener. It might be a small thing to consider, but, as we all know it, small details in a guitar can be a huge role to make the sound of it good.
Usually, dead strings in power chords will be the string 1, 2, and 6. Those were the string that you need to consider about this. Again, how you will does this will depend upon the position of your finger and how you would do this. But, if you followed the instructions, what fingers you will use to make these chords possible, then it will be more easy and comfortable for you. If you’re using only the two fingers (pinkie and pointing); you only need to rest your remaining finger in the fret board mildly. Like an effortless fingers resting to a thing. You don’t need to press it, just rest it there and the fingers that will be pressing the string are those fingers that will be making the power chords. If you’re using three fingers, then you only need to rest your middle finger in the fret board mildly in the top of the strings. It may sound bad, but to make it easier for you to understand it, the position of your finger in the fret board while doing this will look like you’re doing a dirty finger.
Power Chords is a wonderful technique to learn how to play the guitar. It will turn keys to many songs that you want to play before but is having a hard time to do so. This lesson is now finished and I am thanking you for the time visiting and trying to learn here using these guitar tutorials for beginners. Hope you enjoyed the lesson I provided you and happy playing!
Note: Acoustic Guitar Image courtesy of Petr Kratochvil.
