Last Updated on October 2, 2022 by Guitarist Authority
Power chords are great for beginners and an essential tool for any guitarist. They are used in a wide variety of music genres. Power chords focus on the two lowest notes of a chord. Because of this, they can sound quite powerful, hence the name.
Here’s what you need to know about power chords, including some helpful tips and tricks to get you started.
What Are Power Chords?
Power chords are two-note chords. They include either the root and fifth, or root, fifth and higher root octave of a chord.
Power chords are common in many styles of music, including pop, rock, reggae, country, metal, punk and jazz.
Examples of Well-Known Songs with Power Chords:
AC/DC – Thunderstruck
Black Sabbath – Iron Man
Blur – Song 2
Bush – Glycerine
Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water
Green Day – American Idiot
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
The Kinks – You Really Got Me
Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock
How to Learn Power Chords
Because they’re composed of fewer actual fingering positions, power chords are easier to play. In addition, the removal of the third note that major and minor chords include eliminates a layer of complexity without sacrificing sound.
Learning power chords is simple. There are only a few things to keep in mind:
- Made up of two notes, consisting of root, fifth and higher root octave. For example: F C F
- Your first and third (along with your fourth) fingers will always have one whole fret in between them.
- Using power chords make chord changes easier because you can move your hand around the fretboard using the same fingering pattern.
How to Play Power Chords On Guitar
First, you choose the lowest two notes of a chord to play – these are the root and the fifth. The root is the note for which the chord is named. It’s the basis around which the other notes work to form a complementary sound. The fifth is the note played at, predictably, a five-note interval from the root.
If you reference the image below, in our example, our root note is C and our fifth note is G.
If we look at the fretboard and see where those notes are, we see the finger positions required to play those notes:
Your index finger will almost always be on the root note when playing a power chord. So when you want to play, the pattern is to place your index finger on the root, then your third finger two frets up and one string higher. You can use your third finger to cover both the fifth and the higher octave. Or, you can use your third finger on the fifth and your fourth finger on the higher octave. The latter better prepares you for more advanced chords.
If playing an F5 for example:
- Your first finger will be placed on the first fret of the low E string (F note).
- Your third finger will be on the third fret of the A string (C note).
- Your fourth finger will be on the third fret of the D string (F note).
To play F Major and see how it compares to the power chord you would play an F5 using the steps above. Then you would add:
- Your second finger on the G string (A note).
- Your first finger will also be placed on the first frets of both the B (C note) and E (F note) strings
How to Play Power Chords on Acoustic Guitar
Although it could be argued that power chords are best left for electric guitars, especially with distortion or overdrive. You can definitely play power chords on acoustic guitar.
You may find them harder to play on acoustic due to the potential fact that you may have to press down harder with your fingers than you normally would with an electric guitar. Don’t let this deter you, keep practicing.
What are power chords on acoustic guitar? They are no different than on electric guitar. Power chords are not guitar specific. You can even play power chords on bass guitar.
Power Chords Chart
This power chords chart includes all twelve notes of the chromatic scale. Notice the fret number changes for D5 and Eb5. Here are the guitar power chords:
Drop D Power Chords
Tuning your guitar to drop D makes playing power chords even easier. This is because instead of using multiple fingers, you can now just use one finger to press on two or three strings on the same fret.
Variations of Power Chords
The Root and the Fifth
As you can see, only the root and the fifth are played, no octave. These two position power chords are much easier to play.
Just the Octaves
Notice the chord is no longer called F5, there is no fifth, so it is just F. Also note that you are note playing anything on the A string, be sure to mute it.
Inverted Power Chords / Power Chord Inversions
These are simply chords played without the root or where the root isn’t the lowest note.
Power Chord Tips and Tricks
Here are some more tips and tricks for learning how to play power chords on guitar.
- Learn from your favourite songs. Choose one, play along until you’re confident.
- Do not strum the strings that have no notes. The ones above in the chart marked with X are not to be played.
- Play around with strumming patterns and dynamics (how soft or loud you play the chord).
- You can technically play the same root note power chord instead of a major chord. However, if you were trying to play a song that called for C major and you played C5 it won’t sound right.
- Power chords are a fantastic way to get comfortable playing chords so you can continue to progress.
- Familiarize yourself with the note and chord names
- Write your your own riffs and progressions
The biggest tip we can give you is to practice. Yes, you’ve probably heard that over and over. But it really is the best advice. You can’t get better if you never put in the time, consistency matters. As long as you’re regularly practicing, you’ll get better at power chords in no time.
Conclusion
Power chords are a fun way to vary your sound when playing guitar. They are simple, but they can make a significant impact. If you never knew what power chords were before you read this, your world is about change.
To learn more chords and more about chords be sure to check out our How to Play Guitar Chords guide!
