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Power Chords: Guitar’s Inner-Strength

All major scales have seven notes and all chords have three notes. These three notes are the root, the 3rd and the fifth notes. A chord involves the use of the three notes at the same time. A power chord means the playing of the root and the fifth notes at once.

Power chords are primarily used in the making of rock n’ roll music as well as heavy metal, thrash metal, punk and hard rock genre of music. Power chords add a distinctive touch to the music which is very different from any other genre such as reggae, jazz or folk. An easy to understand example could be that of E major scale. This scale has E as the root note and it includes F#, G#, A, B, C# and D#. The E major chord accordingly would be E, G# and B. See below for the visual depiction of this scale and the chords:

E |——–|———|———|———
B |——–|—2—–|———|———
E |——–|—3—–|———|———
g# |—1—-|———|———|———
B |——–|———|———|———
E |——–|———|———|———

In order to play the power chord you would play the root and the fifth note of this chord.

E |——–|———|———|———
B |——–|—2—–|———|———
E |——–|—3—–|———|———
g# |——–|———|———|———
B |——–|———|———|———
E |——–|———|———|———

Power chords make switching from one chord to another fairly easy as they follow the same shape. The use of two notes at the same time has some added benefits.

1. Power chords amplify the sound and change its acoustic quality. Quite a number of electrical signals are concurrently created from six strings, which are then amplified. This sends a range of signals to the amplifier, resulting in an ambiguous, muddled up sound.

2. Power chords are easy to play since they involve the use of only three stings at one time. The guitarist is more relaxed as well and is able to switch chords more efficiently and effectively.

3. This kind of music is advantageous to the singer and makes their sound more distinctive. Some good examples are Chuck Berry’s song like “Johnny B. Goode” and Deep Purple’s “Highway Star.”

4. Power chords may be played on different scales. There is no confusion of switching between major and minor since there is no third note involved. The sound could be like a major or a minor scale even when that scale is not actually being played.

Power chords are a fairly new stream of music in the guitar history. It could not be heard at all in the music being produced six to seven decades ago. If you are interested in this technique you must look at getting a good quality guitar effect, a lasting pick and a more powerful amplifier.