Open String Power Chords

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Master the Essential Power Chords

as used by all the great rock & metal bands!

 
Power chords are essential knowledge for any aspiring rock or metal guitarist wanting to play killer rock songs and riffs.
In this guitar lesson you’ll learn’must know’ open string power chords used by the legends of rock and metal music: bands like AC/DC, Guns’n’Roses, Ozzy Osborne, Black Sabbath and others.

Discover:

  • Four crucial power chord shapes used by your favourite rock and metal guitar players (they’re easy to play but sound awesome…)
  • How to set your amp for a killer crunch sound and avoid some of the common amp setting mistakes most guitar players make
  • How power chords are different from regular open chords you know and when to use them

 

So grab your guitar,dive in to this power chord lesson and soon you’ll be cranking out massive sounding riffs like the legends…

 

 

 


 

Power Chords – Learn the Essential Rock and Metal  Guitar Power Chord Shapes used by bands like Metallica, ACDC, Black Sabbath, Guns’n’Roses and more!
Get my awesome free POWER CHORD GUIDE With TAB and chord boxes for this and the other Power Chord Lessons

 

Power Chords – Essential Guitar Power Chords

Power chords are essential knowledge if you want to play rock and metal rhythm guitar, songs and riffs. In this guitar lesson I’ll show you 4 must know power chord shapes used by all rock and metal guitarists and classic bands such as AC/DC, Guns’n’ Roses, Metallica and more. You’ll also learn HOW TO SET YOUR AMP and guitar to get that classic rock sound power chord sound!

Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:

0:12 Hear a basic demo of the power chord shapes this video teaches you and what they sound like.

0:48 What is a power chord? Normally when guitarists talk about power chords they mean ‘5’ chords, for example E5, G5, C5 etc. Where they are different from most other chords is that they only contain 2 notes whereas most other chords are made up of 3 or more notes. Strangely by taking a note out we get a bigger, more powerful sound. Even though some of these shapes use 3 or more strings on the guitar they are still constructed of just 2 notes.

1:14 E5 Power Chord Shape. Play the open E string and the A and D strings at the 2nd fret to play this chord. Either use your 1st finger to barre both strings or use your 1st and 2nd fingers to play it. Either way let your fingers lie slightly ‘flat’ to mute other strings we don’t want to hear.

2:15 A5 Power Chord Shape. If you move the E5 power chord shape across onto the next 3 strings it become an A5 chord. Use the same fingering options we had for the E5 shape. Watch that muting like before!

2:49 D5 Power Chord Shape. For this power chord play the open D string, the G string ate the 2nd fret and the B string at the 3rd fret. Use the various fingering options in the video depending on what works best for you.

4:10 G5 Power Chord Shape. This G5 chord is a favourite of all the classic rock bands – it sounds huge! Play the E string at the 3rd fret, the open D and open G strings, and the B and top E strings at the 3rd fret. Mute the A string with the flat of your 2nd finger (which is playing the low E string note).

5:16  Setting Up Your Amp for a Great Power Chord Sound. These are just some guidelines for amp settings – feel free to experiment to get your own sounds. Don’t over-do the distortion – use as much as you need but not too much! The reason is that the chords will start to sound mushy and unclear with too much distortion. I set my bass and treble controls to about 2 o’clock and mid to about 9 o’clock and usually use the bridge pickup on my guitar.

6:39 Power Chord Connecting Exercise. Here’s a simple chord sequence you can use to practice these power chord shapes. Also use songs by your favourite rock and metal bands. The exercise here goes from E5 to D5, then from G5 to A5. See the TAB in my FREE POWER CHORD GUIDE!

 



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