If you want to play rock and metal rhythm guitar, then you must know Power Chord shapes. These are chord shapes used by all rock and metal guitarists and classic bands such as Metallica, Guns n’ Roses, AC/DC and much more. Here I’ll show you these chords and how to use them
In this lesson we are going to see:
With these chords, you can play almost any metal and rock song. Don’t forget to download my awesome free POWER CHORDS GUIDE With TAB and chord boxes for this and the other Power Chord Lessons!
Power Chord Shapes – Learn the Essential Rock and Metal Power Chords used by bands like Metallica, ACDC, Black Sabbath, Guns’n’Roses and more!
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More Essential Guitar Power Chord Shapes
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 ‘must know’ chord shapes used by all rock and metal guitarists and classic bands such as AC/DC, Guns’n’ Roses, Metallica and more. Plus you’ll learn how you can use these to play ANY power chord!
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:38 Basic Power Chords Shape
We’ll start by learning how to play an F5 power chord at the 1st fret. Then in a minute we’ll start moving it around the neck to get other chords using the same shape. Notice the two different options for fingering this chord shape.
1:28 Controlling String Noise
Watch your 1st finger position when you play this shape – it should be slightly flat so it mutes off any unwanted strings. This little tip is essential for getting clear and punchy power chords without unwanted string noise!
1:52 The Moveable Power Chord Shape
By moving the shape up the neck it can be used to play any chord you might need. This is all to do with the root note, which is the note you play with your 1st finger on the low E string. Whatever this note becomes as you move the chord shape around determines which chord you are playing. The chords you get are: 1st fret-F5, 3rd fret-G5, 5th fret – A5, 7th fret – B5, 8th fret – C5, 10th fret – D5, 12th fret – E5. Make sure you learn this – very important!
3:05 Alternative Fingering
You can also play the power chord shape without the D string note to get a 2 string power chord shape. These can be used interchangeably with the 3 string version and are basically the same thing. They can also be moved around the neck to get different power chords.
4:20 Sharps and Flats
Make sure you can also play power chords with a sharp(#) or flat (b) root note. These are all played at the frets in between the ones we played the shape at earlier. See the lesson for details and demonstration.
5:15 Chord Connecting Exercise
This simple exercise uses the shape played as A5, C5, F5 and G5.
I’m using the 3 string shape here although you could use the 2 string form if you prefered. Notice how I’m using ‘palm muting’ to gives the chords a more chunky, tighter sound. Lightly rest the flesh of your picking hand on the strings to ‘palm mute’. On the final A5 chord I release the palm muting slightly to let the chord ring out a little more.
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:
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!
Are you frustrated every time you try and play a blues solo? Tired of playing the same old blues guitar licks, riffs and chords? Are your blues solos just missing the mark? These 3 simple blues solo tips and practice techniques can make a big difference to your blues solos…today! Learn to use these in your playing right now and hear the difference in your blues solos straight away!
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Want to play a better blues solo? If you want to play more awesome blues guitar solos then the 3 blues solo tips in this lesson will help…and fast!
You’ll learn 3 simple soloing concepts you can apply to your solos which are guaranteed to help you play better solos.
Sound like BS? Try it and see – you might be pleasantly surprised.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:12 Blues Guitar Solo – Demonstration showing some of the blues solo tips and concepts you’ll learn in this lesson
1:05 The 3 soloing concepts you’re about to learn aren’t all you need to play an awesome blues solo – there’s more to it than that. But they’re easy to understand and apply to hear a difference in your soloing quickly. They’re also devices we hear all the blues guitar legends use in their playing.
2:10 Learning to Use Space In Your Solo is one of the most effective things you can do for better blues solos. Think of how we tell a story: we leave gaps and pauses to allow the listener to absorb what we’re telling them. It’s the same with playing a guitar solo. Leaving space is one of the most powerful blues solo tips I can give you…it makes a HUGE difference!
2:59 Hear me demonstrate use of space in a blues solo. Notice how it creates a sense of structure and allows the phrases to ‘breathe’.
4:11 How can you practice using space in your solo? Easy – find a cool backing track and force yourself to play a phrase, leave a gap, play a phrase, leave a gap and so on. This might be a bit unnatural if you’re not used to leaving space in your playing – but it will teach you to use space effectively in your playing.
4:40 Long Notes .V. Short Notes. Mixing up short notes with long notes in your playing builds some natural contrast and shape into your solo. This keeps the listener engaged and listening out for what is going to happen next.
5:15 Hear me demonstrate how to practice mixing up long and short notes in your blues solos and improvisations.
5:50 The best way to learn to do this naturally is simply to put on a blues backing track and force yourself to use lots of long and short notes. If this feels a bit strange at first keep doing it – after a couple of times round the blues it will feel easier and you’ll hear a difference in the sorts of things you are playing in your blues solos.
6:33 Using String Bending – Maximise the Power of String Bending! String bending is one of the most important elements of a great sounding blues guitar solo. Listen to just how much bending the great players use in their blues solo – make sure you are using them in your playing – lots!
7:25 Listen to me demonstrate how you can use bending in your blues solos. Notice how it creates tension and just sounds authentic and bluesy.
8:38 Practice using each one of these blues solo tips in isolation like you saw me do. This will get you used to using them in your playing. Then – forget about them and just jam! You’ll likely notice that the time spent experimenting with them will have had a positive effect on your blues soloing. By experimenting with these you’ll find these simple blues solo tips will have a massive impact on all areas of you blues guitar soloing. Be patient, experiment and have fun! Good luck!
Playing blues may seems easy, but if you want to make it sound cool, like the old Blues Masters while playing rhythm blues guitar, you better learn some simple 7th and 9th chord shapes. In this lesson I’ll show you some of these chords and some tricks to put a bit of color into your 12 bars blues rhythm guitar playing. It isn’t hard to do, so let’s see what you are gonna learn today.
With these chord shapes, you will find your blues playing way cooler and more colorful, and you will sound like the blues legends!
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Blues Guitar Chords Lesson – Using 9th Chords
Sick of boring open guitar chords, shuffle licks and barre chords when you’re playing blues rhythm guitar? Let me show you some easy blues guitar chords and tricks which can transform your blues rhythm guitar and get you sounding super cool every time you play a blues.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:49 This lesson uses a 12 bar blues in the key of A as an example. Here you’ll see this demonstrated using basic dominant 7th chords – A7,D7 and E7. I also break up the 12 bar blues chord sequence so you can learn the correct form.
1:55 How to play the A7, D7 and E7 chord shapes I used in the demonstration. These are powerful but simple blues guitar chords which often sound better than open chords or barre chords. Complete with description and fingering guidelines.
3:30 Why it’s good to have a few other blues guitar chords to use as well as the basic 7th chords.
3:55 How to play the A7 chord riff I use for extra colour and interest. You need to barre the D,G and B string with your 1st finger at 5th fret and hammer on your 2nd finger at 6th fret on the G string.
5:50 D9 and E9 are chord substitutes for D7 and E7.They are totally interchangeable so experiment with swapping between them.
6:48 How to play the D9 and E9 chord shapes on guitar. Fingerings and playing tips included.
8:15 These chord shapes are moveable. Use the root notes on the E and A strings to figure out where to move them to to get G9, B9 etc.
9:14 Here I put the A7 riff, D9 and E9 together into a complete 12 bar blues to show you what it sounds like. Find a 12 bar blues backing track in A and try it out.
10:15 Summary of chord substitutions and how to combine these various chords.
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I’m sure you will agree with me that Jimi Hendrix is one of the best guitar players of all times. Well, today I’ll show you 3 easy blues licks taken from his playing. Learn 3 supercool minor pentatonic Jimi Hendrix blues licks and the scale shape they use.
So, let’s get into it and see what are you going to learn today
With this licks and tricks you can experiment and create some other licks, which will help you take your blues guitar playing to the next level!
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Learn 3 supercool minor pentatonic Jimi Hendrix blues licks. Learn the scale shape they use, learn how to play them and pick up loads of performance and playing tips to help you take your blues guitar playing to the next level.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:14 Introduction. Hear me jam using some of these Jimi Hendrix blues licks over a blues backing track in the key of G.
1:30 These licks are based on some of the ideas Hendrix plays in his version of ‘Once I Had A Woman’. I’ve moved them into the key of G to make them a bit easier to learn.
1:40How to play G minor pentatonic scale as used in these licks. I’m going to explain and demonstrate the scale shape to help you get to grips with this crucially important rock and blues guitar scale. Complete with description and fingering guidelines.
3:00 Jimi Hendrix Blues Licks – Lick 1 – An essential but easy minor pentatonic blues lick which you can easily slot into your playing. Remember when bending strings to back up your bending finger with other fingers when possible. Also watch how to ‘choke’ off a bend before you let it down.
6:03 Jimi Hendrix Blues Licks – Lick 2 – This Hendrix lick is using Gminor pentatonic and makes use of some blues guitar touches like semitone bends and blues curls. Nothing too complicated here. This is a great turnaround lick which will work great at the end of a chorus of blues solo.
9:16 Jimi Hendrix Blues Licks- Lick 3 – This lick starts with a repeating string bend. I use vibrato on these bends to give it a more bluesy sound. There are some cool little blues guitar and minor pentatonic moves hiding in this lick Take the lick and start experimenting with it so you get good at using the bits of it it in your blues playing.
12:42 How to approach learning these blues licks and how to practice them so you can start making up your own licks.
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Get my awesome BLUES GUITAR BUNDLE with full TAB and notation for this blues riffs lesson and my other most popular blues lessons!
Apart from chords what can you do when you’re playing blues rhythm guitar? Want more tricks in your blues rhythm guitar trick bag? Let me show you 2 easy blues riffs which can spice up your blues rhythm guitar and get you sounding super cool every time you play a blues.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:14 Hear me play one of the blues riffs over a 12 bar blues in the key of G.
1:07 How to play the first blues riff over a G7 chord. Complete with description and fingering guidelines. Remember that the first note in the riff (low E string note) is the root note – this means you can move the blues riff around to make it work on other chords too. Simply start on the root of the chord you want to play on and play the riff – easy!
2:36 Here’s how you can move the riff to make it work on C7 and D7, the two other chords in a 12 bar blues in the key of G. Basically all you have to do is move it across onto the A string – simple. Play it at the 3rd fret for C7 and at the 5th fret for D7.
3:49 Here I show you a 12 bar blues in G and how to apply each of these different riffs to the progression. This follows a pretty standard version of a 12 bar blues chord sequence although there are variations which you might see.
5:56 Hear the blues riffs played over a 12 bar blues backing track in the key of G.
7:01 These riffs are a useful alternative to playing chords when you’re playing rhythm guitar. If you were playing with another guitar player or a piano player who was playing chord shapes, then playing chords might muddy up the sound too much. The leaner and lighter sound of these riffs will support the chord progression without cluttering it up .
7:40 Here is the second riff. This is similar to the first one but is a little more interesting sounding, using pull offs and blues curls. Sometimes it may be better than the more basic first riff. Like the first riff it is completely moveable – here I’ll show you how to play it over G7, C7 and D7, the 3 chords making up a 12 bar blues in G.
10:37 These 2 riffs shapes are moveable. Use the root notes on the E and A strings to figure out where to move them to use them over E7, A7, B7 etc. You’ll find they’ll work on any Dominant 7 chord if you play them ath the right place on the guitar neck. Try creating some variations of your own and experiment with making them work in other music styles too such as rock and funk.
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Get my awesome BLUES GUITAR BUNDLE with full TAB and notation for this and my other most popular blues lessons!
Acoustic Blues Guitar Solo – Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan Style
Learn a cool acoustic blues guitar solo in the style of blues guitar legends Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan . Packed full of great blues licks and techniques guaranteed to boost your blues soloing power in both an acoustic blues or electric blues guitar setting!
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:15 Acoustic Blues Guitar Solo – Demonstration
Here’s the blues solo over a 12 bar blues in the key of E. You’ll probably recognise some of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray’s favourite acoustic blues licks in there!
1:18 Open Position Blues Soloing Scales
Learn the two E minor pentatonic scale shapes we’re using in this blues solo. The first pattern is played around the open and 3rd fret area and the second pattern extends up to the 5th fret area of the fingerboard. This solo uses lots of open string blues ideas coming from these patterns.
3:07 Acoustic Blues Lick 1 -This classic blues lick is using a fragment of an E7 chord -which makes perfect sense as we’re playing over an E7 chord here. You can hear Clapton play something similar to this on his ‘Before You Accuse Me’ solo on his ‘Unplugged’ album.
The lick uses this repeating idea several times before moving into a lick using the open string E minor pentatonic scale with some notes from an open E chord added in.
6:31 Acoustic Blues Lick 2. A cool little blues idea again in the style of Eric Clapton. This one uses an E blues scale pattern up around the 5th fret with a couple of added notes(see video for shape). Notice how this scale also ‘outlines’ the A7 chord we are playing over – this is why it sounds so good over the A7 chord.Also note the bluesy slides and blues urls used in this lick!
9:50 Acoustic Blues Lick 3. Check out this cool Stevie Ray Vaughan lick using the second scale shape we looked at earlier and a B7 chord shape too. As in lick 1 we’re using a repeating idea played in triplets with slides – a very authentic blues sounding trick! Notice the addition of trill using the 1st fret G string (from the open E chord shape)and the bass run leading into the B7 chord shape. Picking out the notes in the B7 chord shape is a simple but effective approach which punctuates this point in the solo nicely.
13:35 Acoustic Blues Lick 4. This open string lick is typical of both Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s playing. It’s using several of the devices we’ve seen elsewhere in this guitar solo. The little sliding lick here around the 3rd and 5th fret is well worth investigating!
15:13 Acoustic Blues Lick 5. Here’s a cool little blues turnaround lick in E which wraps the solo up nicely. This is a ‘classic’ turnaround idea you’ll hear lots of blues artists play. It’s making use of open strings and a descending phrase along the G string to lead us to the end.
16:24 Here are licks 3,4 and 5 joined up slowly.
16:46 Complete Solo Demonstration
Now that we’ve broken the solo up into individual blues licks, let’s put it together and listen to the whole thing one more time.
17:18 Now What? Tips For Using These Licks!
Take your favourite licks, change them, extend them, create your own variations and make sure you use them! This is a crucial part in absorbing new vocabulary into your soloing and improvising. Don’t be afraid to experiment, experiment, experiment! This is the only way we become better blues soloists. Remember to simpify the licks, slow them down – do whatever you need to in order to make them playable and useful for YOU!
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Get my awesome BLUES GUITAR BUNDLE with full TAB and notation for this and my other most popular blues lessons!
Eric Clapton Blues Lick Lesson
Learn 3 supercool Eric Clapton blues licks based on his playing on Cream’s ‘Strange Brew’. Learn the scale shape they use, learn how to play them, and pick up loads of performance and playing tips to help you take your blues guitar playing to the next level and make up your own great blues licks.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:14 Introduction. Hear me demonstrate some of these Eric Clapton blues licks over a backing track.
1:01How to play A minor pentatonic scale as used in these licks. I’m going to explain and demonstrate two scale shapes to help you get to grips with this crucially important rock and blues guitar scale. Complete with description and fingering guidelines.
2:30 Lick 1 – similar to Claptons opening lick for Strange Brew. It uses the A minor pentatonic scale patterns studied and makes use of some important blues guitar tricks such as fast, greasy slides, pre-bends and blues curls.
6:23 Lick 2 – This Clapton lick is using the A minor pentatonic shape at the 5th fret. Nothing too complicated here. This is a great turnaround lick which will work great at the end of a chorus of blues solo.
7:50 Lick 3 – This lick teaches you a great little sliding move within the sliding minor pentatonic scale shape. This little move is a bit of an Eric Clapton trademark and is a great addition to your blues trick bag. Take it and start experimenting with it so you get good at using it in your playing.
10:00 What to do with these blues licks to get the most out of them.
In this guitar lesson I’ll show you step by step how to play three essential minor pentatonic blues licks which you can use to spice up your blues solos
Watch to discover:
So grab your guitar and let’s get started!
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Minor Pentatonic Blues Licks – 3 Must Know Licks
Learn 3 great minor pentatonic blues guitar licks in the styles of masters like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and others. Learn the guitar scale shape these pentatonic blues licks come from,how to play them and pick up loads of performance and playing tips to help you take your blues guitar soloing to the next level.
Here’s a breakdown of what you learn in this video:
0:14 Introduction. Hear me jam over a 12 bar blues in A using some pentatonic blues licks like the ones you’ll learn in this guitar lesson.
0:42 How to play A minor pentatonic scale using 2 different scale patterns as used in these licks. I’m going to explain and demonstrate the scale shape to help you get to grips with this crucially important rock and blues guitar scale. Complete with description and fingering guidelines.
2:33 Lick 1 – An essential but pretty easy minor pentatonic blues lick which you can easily slot into your playing. Notice how it makes use of blues guitar tricks like the ‘blues curl’ and ‘choked off’ bends for an authentic blues sound. It’s using both of the minor pentatonic scale shapes I showed you earlier in this lesson.
6:10 Lick 2 – This cool blues lick is using the first A minor pentatonic scale shape and sounds great over a 12 bar blues sequence. This lick will teach you some blues guitar touches like semitone bends . Pay attention for some of the left hand fingering tips I talk about in this lick.
8:24 Lick 3 – This lick starts up in the higher part of the 2nd minor pentatonic scale shape I showed you. Notice the use of little blues style hammer ons and the super greasy blues slide in this lick. Take the lick and start experimenting with it so you get good at using the bits of it it in your blues playing. This will help you create pentatonic blues licks of your own.
11:54 How to approach learning these pentatonic blues licks and how to practice them so you can start making up your own ideas. These licks are very versatile and will work all over a 12 bar blues but you need to experiment to get the most out of them.
Get the FREE ‘BLUES GUITAR LICK GUIDE’ (Guitar TAB for this blues guitar lesson,Playing Tips and More!)
Blues Guitar Lesson – Learn 7 blues guitar licks, 3 essential blues guitar scales and awesome blues guitar tips and techniques for playing blues guitar solos in the style of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Albert King and other blues guitar greats!
Blues Licks Lesson- 7 Blues Licks Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Albert King, Eric Clapton Style You Need to Know
In this blues licks lesson you’ll learn 7 blues licks you need to know from the playing of blues guitar legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, BB King, Eric Clapton and others. All these licks are played in the key of A and are using the A minor pentatonic scale. Let’s look at blues lick 1
0:46 Blues Lick 1. If there was ever a must know blues lick then this is probably it! It’s used by all the blues guitar greats like Eric Clapton, SRV, Albert King etc and is a powerful lick to begin your blues solos with.
2:06 Blues Lick 2. This lick is borrowed from Stevie Ray Vaughan and is a lick he loved to play. Listen to his album Texas Flood to here licks like this used a lot.
3:14 Blues Lick 3. Albert King is an influential blues player and this lick is the kind of thing he used to play in his blues solos. Check out the bending tips in this lick too…you’ll need them to get your bends sounding like Alberts!
4:54 Blues Lick 4. Eric Clapton’s playing with Cream inspired this next blues lick. It’s packed full of tasty blues bends and curls.
7:08 Blues Lick 5. This Stevie Ray Vaughan style lick uses the sliding blues scale shape. Definitely check out these bends and slides in this scale pattern. They’re incredibly useful, versatile, and can add a lot to your blues solos.
8:25 Blues Lick 6. A classic BB King style lick here making use of a tasty double stop move. This is adding the 6th into our pentatonic scale (7th fret B string) giving us a ‘sweeter’ sound characteristic of BB’s guitar style.
10: 12 Blues Lick 7. British blues legends Eric Clapton and Peter Green used licks like this in their landmark solos. Some tasty double stop slides here coming from the sliding blues scale plus a cool pre-bend move.. Experiment with these they can sound great in your blues solos.
12:08 Once you know these blues licks be sure to practice using them in your solos. Also move them into other keys to you can use them in any blues setting.
Hope you found this blues guitar lesson helpful…remember to grab you ‘BLUES GUITAR LICK GUIDE’ below!
Good luck and have fun…