How to Play a Power Chord on the Guitar

By eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor

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The power chord is the most basic of all chords and is the building block of almost every rock, blues and metal song.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Electric Guitars
Guitar Amplifiers
Guitar Cables
Guitar Cases
Guitar Picks
Guitar Slide
Guitar Stands
Guitar Straps
Guitar Strings
Sheet Music For Guitar
Guitar Magazine

The Chord

Step1

Place your index finger on any fret on the thickest - low E - string.

Step2

Place your ring finger two frets higher on the adjacent - A - string.

Step3

Rock out.

Variations

Step1

Play this chord on any fret up and down the neck.

Step2

Move from string to string.

Step3

Experiment playing the chord in different positions.

Tips & Warnings

Make sure that your amp is loud enough to make it sound good. No one likes to hear the rock struggling out of a tiny amp.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 8/8/2006 Power chords are great if you are playing a fast song or if you don't like the way open chords sound. They are also great practice if you are learning barre chords. Adding an extra note onto the string makes the note sound much better and is a much more comfortable position once you get used to it.

Anonymous said

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on 2/10/2006 If you're playing a fast song that has two power chords far apart (F to D for example), instead of sliding your hand all the way up from the F to the D on the 6th and 5th strings, go to the D and count five frets back, then move the power chord to the 5th and 4th strings -- same chord, different place!

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 When playing metal, power chords are all downs strokes, to make a heavier sound. When playing punk, you use up and down strokes.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Power chords are great if you are playing a fast song or if you don't like the way open chords sound. They are also great practice if you are learning barre chords. Adding an extra note onto the string makes the note sound much better and is a much more comfortable position once you get used to it.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 When playing a power chord, try to fret the d-string (when playing on a) directly belowyour 2nd finger on the a string e.g
D--5--
A--5--
E--3--
this gives a more full sound.

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