Seven months on from coming on here for a bit of a moan about power chords (I hated the sound of them on the acoustic guitar and rather neglected them) I am facing up to them as part of Grade 2 consolidation.
The good news is that I have started enjoying learning them a bit more during consolidation as pretty much everything else on G2 consolidation is now tiny incremental improvements but I can make bigger steps with power chords as I was so bad at them!
Anyway, I am using some of Justin’s song videos to find power chord songs and have been trying ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’ by the Ramones.
Justin says the chord progression includes an A minor. From freezing the frame it looked like he was playing an ‘A’ with the root on the 5th fret and a bit of Googling says that power chords are neither major nor minor. So why does Justin say to play an A minor power chord? Am I missing something? Should I just play and A instead?
It doesn’t help that I am on acoustic and Justin is on Electric in the video so the sound isn’t directly comparable to my ear.
If you play the full barre chord, it is an A minor barre chord. The A power chord (either 2 or 3-finger/string, also known as an A5 chord) the note that makes the chord major vs. minor is not played. It will sound close enough for Grade 2 consolidation. If you love “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” enough to make it part of your permanent repertoire, you can change to the A minor barre chord after you learn it in Grade 4 or 5.
IMHO, at this point in your journey, your focus should be on playing power chord songs to build your left-hand strength and left-hand power chord technique, which you will need when you tackle barre chords in Grade 4.
Dave999: “Does anyone have any tips on hand cramping when playing power chords?”
I’ve been getting this as well. I think it’s just a strength thing that will become easier with practice, as I do seem to be able to play power chords longer now than I did a few weeks ago, and the cramping feels very similar to what I experienced when I first started learning barre chords.
@perfectlyGoodInk I didn’t really get that from barre chords… for me it’s that I tend to squeeze to hard with my thumb on the back of the neck causing alot of tension. It has gotten better with practice and building strength and coordination in those specific muscles.
Glad to hear it, @Dave999! It’s been getting better for me as well.
Nowadays, I have a tougher time with cramping for minor chords, oddly. But I’m confident just backing off when there’s pain and keep practicing to build strength and endurance will get me through that as well.
What do people do about the “chirp” when shifting the power chords along the neck? E.g. in seven nation army I also hear it in Justin’s clip. Anything which can be done or should I just stop worrying and learn to love the chirp?
Chirp? Are you referring to the string noise when you slide your fingers from one position to the other?
If YES, jou just need to lift your fingers slightly off the strings when you move instead of sliding down. Much of the sound comes from your ring finger sliding on the string, so even if you only lift your ring finger and slide your index finger, it will be a much quieter transition.
Of course, sometimes you may want to make that sound when changing positions, but it’s always better if you are in control of it.
Hi all, enjoyed the discussion above but I’m a wee bit stuck myself. I learned the two finger power chord a while ago and can move it around no problem, but I’m really struggling with muting.
For the life of me, I cannot mute the high strings, especially on 3 finger power chords. 6th string ones are okay, but 5th string when playing something like Teen Spirit or Song 2 are a nightmare
It’s as if after learning the F chord, I can’t train the index finger to sit in any other position? Any help is greatly appreciated
Just get your fingers in the right place. Do it super slowly to train them, and then do it again and again and again. Then build speed. You’ll get it, some things just take a while. Your hands need to build the muscle memory.
I’ve really got no clue but I think it won’t matter if that’s what feels better for you. I like using my third finger to mute the top string personally.
Sorry, I meant my second finger (I play piano and they call it third in that). Anyway in reply still I don’t think it matters that much. I’m pretty sure that’s how Kurt Cobain used to do it.
Yes, with a bit of practice you can perfectly mute a power chord by releasing the pressure of your fretting hand. Whichever fingers you’re using to form the chord, it’s crucial that they keep touching all the strings ever so slightly, because lifting off the fingers entirely will cause open strings to ring out.
Play the power chord and carefully release the pressure of all fingers while maintaining the shape of the chord. You want your fingers to stop making contact with the fretboard, while still touching the strings.
At first you might hear some buzzing, which is to be expected when learning this technique. In most cases, you can solve this by making a little more contact with the string. Even the smallest change can make a huge difference.
If you’re doing it right, you don’t even need the strumming hand to mute the strings at the bridge.
I learned to mute the 6th string (big E) with the middle finger when playing power chords that start on the 5th string like E, D and C. Feels comfortable and second nature to me since I don’t use the middle finger for power chords, but would this become a bad habit for other techniques?
I’m wondering the same thing.
The Justin guitar song app shows playing a D5 by using the open 4th (D) string, 2nd fret on 3rd (G) string and 3rd fret on 2nd (B) string.
How do you mute strings 6 (low E) and 5 (A) in this scenario?
Quick question, for 5th string root power chords, should I be strumming from the 6th string (even though it’s muted) or from the 5th string? Or does it not matter?
