I’ll join you, though it will be more my observations than complaints. (Maybe.)
I think of it as being similar to spices and herbs. Sometimes you (or others) want cilantro in the salsa; other times, no. Or cinnamon in pasta sauce. So you want to be able to do either, depending on the recipe or guests.
As a fellow PRS electric player, I find that power chords sound “best” with some distortion applied. An added bonus is that It also goes a long way to mask flaws in technique. I completely understand that that sound isn’t everyone’s cup of salsa.
I’ve only been at them for a couple of months now, and I’m still very much undecided as to whether to go with the 3-finger approach or the 2-finger mini-barre. The latter is appealing, but I’m not sure I’d ever master it to the point where I wouldn’t occasionally fret an unwanted high string (though I know I’d better get there for the sake of upcoming A-shape barre chords). I keep practicing both ways, hoping one will eventually win out. Both keep improving, so the jury is still out.
I look at these variations as challenges to improve awareness, dexterity, agility, and the rest. Being able to include or omit specific notes from a chord seems like a very powerful (no pun) skill, so I figure it’s worth trying to get it down.
Power chords are definitely not something I was instantly able to do well. Maybe if I’d tried when I was 13. I’m at the point where I’m just barely OK at it - as long as I stay on the same set of strings. If I hop across strings, things slow down considerably. I’m beginning to see improvements there, but it’s slow going.
You may also find that there aren’t that many power chord songs that you know and like well enough to devote much practice time to them.
You can also play the 2 notes version of the power chord. For me it was the easiest way to learn.
Depending on the song the 2 notes power chord sound better. Once you feel comfortable it’s easier to just add another finger or play two notes with the same finger.
Yup, that’s how I’m looking at this, I’ll keep plugging away. Been getting tips about my amp over in the gear section and I may be able to dial it in to at least sound not so horrid. At least my husband said a couple of times they sounds okay now.
I had a tough time when I hit this lesson too. I worked on them for several weeks and then moved on once I got something that was almost passable.
Then, last summer I spent a ton of time using the Stuck 3/4 chords while working the strumming SOS lessons. When I went back to power chords I was suddenly a ton better at them and actually enjoyed playing some songs with them.
I think that playing a lot with the Stuck 3/4 chords helped me develop strength and calluses on my third and fourth finger that really helped out. Also the E and A versions of the stuck chords helped with stretching between the 2 and third finger. This also helped a ton in having the strength and dexterity for barre chords.
So, even if you don’t get them fully mastered at the first pass, if you keep cycling back the them you will find that your power chords will keep improving as you develop all of your other skills.
for a two finger power chord is it ‘okay’ to use my pinky instead of ring finger, or should I really be trying to train my ring finger to extend to that fret?
I started by using my pinky. I later found that if I use two fingers, I am helping to train myself for barre chords because the two fingers are in the same place for both.
I also think it is easier to avoid the string below the harmonic (pinky) ringing with two fingers. When I go up the neck (toward the body) I start to have trouble fitting both fingers in a fret without the 5th buzzing due to finger 3 (ring finger) being too far back. At this point is is handy to use 2 fingers but this is often using the 3rd finger not the pinky.
Hi Paul,
I think we would benefit a lot from learning it with your ring finger,that is why he teach it this way… And now I benefit greatly from it
But but when I started ‘Walking by myself’ (grade 4) before the weekend… and look that riff today closer at Justin, I was a bit shocked when I saw him do that with his pinky … it is a bit warm today so I haven’t practiced much, but I think I understand that in this case it is better for the speed desired for this riff to play it tighter…(I hope)
So we are going to encounter that with the little finger, but for now you should try it as the teacher shows. And of course if after a long try it is still impossible, a small cheat is probably allowed for a while.
Well, you’ll eventually have to learn to fret that note with the ring finger. For 3-finger power chords, for E-shape barre chords, for playing that standard blues shuffle pattern in closed position, etc.
I suppose whether you learn it now or later is up to you.
I find bar cords a whole lot easer than power cords. With Bar cords I can easily keep my spacing on the frets. Then to play a power cord I just play the top 3 or 4 strings. If I screw ups and hit all 6 it still sounds good.
In many songs featuring power chords, the feel of the guitar part depends on hitting the strings very hard and loose, meaning you will want to hit all (or most) of the strings. For such songs, fretting only the 2 or 3 strings and muting the rest is important. You cannot get the right sound fretting a full barre chord.
If you can already play barre chords, power chords should come fairly easily.
I find learning power chords to be just as difficult as the F barre chord. It’s just as painful wears my fretting hand and arm out. Does anyone else experience this? Are power chords supposed to be easier than barre chords?
Hi Davinder @dbhamra2002, I first encountered did this lesson about a year ago, and I found power chords difficult as well. In fact, I worked on them for about a month, then abandoned them. I returned to them about 4 months ago, and they felt much easier. I have this experience a lot - try something new, don’t get it, return to it later with more success. For me, this looping back has become part of my learning journey.
How are you feeling pain when trying to play power chords? You say it wears your fretting hand and arm out - yes, I totally get that. Is that the pain you’re feeling, or is there more? How long have you been playing guitar? What type of guitar are you playing? And one more question: have you been following Justin’s lessons from the beginning of Grade 1? I only ask to get a feel of what you’ve been exposed to, which can help guide the responses folks give. You might consider posting a photo of your hand forming some power chords - there may be some adjustments that can help.
Hi Judi, Thanks for replying! I started this lesson about a couple of weeks ago and I felt the muscle strain in my whole arm almost up to the shoulder. Very similar to F barre chord. I had to take a break for a couple of days because there was a dull pain in my shoulder. Now I have more strain in my hand some of my wrist. I do the full practice routine for Module 12 but then when I try to practice a song with it, I can’t finish the song which is All the Small Things. I can only do a couple of minutes. My hands get very tired and stiff so I need to take a break for a few days.
I have been using the JustinGuitar website and app for about a couple of years. I started with Grade 1. I like using the app more because the practice is more structured. It’s great.
I like your idea of coming back to it after a few months. Just got to figure out how to take a picture while practicing!
I started with power chords about two months ago, having just reached module 12 of grade 2.
At the begining, it was hard doing and painful in my fingers after a short while. Even though I’ve been going through the earlier lessons for a couple years now, it seems power chords cause their own type of caluses to develop in your fingertips. After a few weeks of practice I’ve noticed caluses on my first and third fingers on my fretting hand (and to a lesser extent in the 4th finger), and playing has gotten way easier, including fast slides, which used to be super hard.
As for other types of pain, I experienced a bit of wrist pain, which went away once I started watching my wrist angle more carefuly; and also some cramping early on, which I attributed to me pressing too hard on the strings - with a properly “callused” hand I now can make the chords sound good even without the thumb helping put pressure, so my fingering is much more gentle.
There are of course my own learnings in the journey, and your mileage may vary
One thing that caught my attention is that since power chords is that much further along in the set of lessons, Justin no longer spends so much time (and camera angles, and takes) explaining all the mechanics of getting a good grip and hand position. That’s probably because it is not that different from how you finger open chords, but beginner me would still probably have benefited from a bit more hand holding (pun intended) in the first power chord lesson.
Thank you so much, Heckler for the information. I was looking at Justin’s video on wrist and hand placement for the power chords but there wasn’t much information on that. What you said makes sense. I also have small hands, fingers, and arms. That might also add to the difficulty for me. I have been mindful of my fretting wrist. I’m hoping to develop more endurance as time goes by. Thanks so much!!!
I have been trying to play power chords on acoustic and electric guitar. I think the top of the neck positioning is hard for me because I can only stretch so far with my fingers. Skipping a semitone fret to get the tone for the 3rd and 4th finger is a hard stretch for my fingers.
If it makes anyone feel any better, I have been focusing on these for months and still my hand cannot make it through an entire song and isn’t at all easy to learn, so keep on keeping on!
Most (read, nearly all) of them I just don’t like.
You might consider posting a photo of your hand forming some power chords - there may be some adjustments that can help.