Power chord

For the Mike Krol album, seePower Chords (album).

Not to be confused withPower cord.

Power chord

Component intervals fromroot
perfect fifth
root
Tuning
2:3:4

E5 power chord in eighth notes

A power chord being fretted

Apower chord,also called afifth chord,is acolloquialname for achordon guitar, especially onelectric guitar,that consists of theroot noteand thefifth,as well as possiblyoctavesof those notes. Power chords are commonly played with anampwith intentionally addeddistortionor overdriveeffects.Power chords are a key element of many styles ofrock,especiallyheavy metalandpunk rock.

Analysis

When two or more notes are played through adistortionprocess thatnon-linearlytransforms the audio signal, additionalpartialsare generated at the sums and differences of thefrequenciesof theharmonicsof those notes (intermodulation distortion).When a typicalchordcontaining such intervals (for example, amajororminorchord) is played through distortion, the number of different frequencies generated, and the complex ratios between them, can make the resulting soundmessy and indistinct.This effect is accentuated as most guitars are tuned based onequal temperament,with the result that minor thirds are narrower, and major thirds wider, than they would be injust intonation.

However, in apower chord,the ratio between the frequencies of the root and fifth are very close to thejustinterval3:2. When played through distortion, the intermodulation leads to the production of partials closely related in frequency to the harmonics of the original two notes, producing a more coherent sound. The intermodulation makes thespectrumof the sound expand in both directions, and with enough distortion, a newfundamental frequencycomponent appears an octave lower than the root note of the chord played without distortion, giving a richer, morebassyand more subjectively 'powerful' sound than the undistorted signal.Even when played without distortion, the simple ratios between theharmonicsin the notes of a power chord can give a stark and powerful sound, owing to theresultant tone(combination tone) effect. Power chords also have the advantage of being relatively easy to play(see§ Fingering),allowing fast chord changes and easy incorporation intomelodiesandriffs.

Terminology

In a triadic context, chords with omitted thirds may be considered "indeterminate" triads.

Theorists are divided on whether a power chord can be considered achordin the traditional sense, with some requiring a 'chord' to contain a minimum of three degrees of the scale. When the same interval is found intraditionalandclassicalmusic, it would not usually be called a "chord", and may be considered adyad(separated by aninterval). However, the term is accepted as a pop and rock music term, most strongly associated with the overdriven electric guitar styles ofhard rock,heavy metal,punk rock,and similar genres. The use of the term "power chord" has, to some extent, spilled over into the vocabulary of other instrumentalists, such askeyboardandsynthesizerplayers.

Power chords are most commonly notated5or(no 3).For example, "C5" or "C(no 3)" refer to playing the root (C) and fifth (G). These can beinverted,so that the G is played below the C (making an interval of a fourth). They can also be played with octave doublings of the root or fifth note, which makes a sound that is subjectively higher pitched with less power in the low frequencies, but still retains the character of a power chord.

Another notation isind,designating the chord as 'indeterminate'.This refers to the fact that a power chord is neither major nor minor, as there is no third present. This gives the power chord achameleon-like property; if played where a major chord might be expected, it can sound like a major chord, but when played where a minor chord might be expected, it can sound minor.

History

The first written instance of a power chord for guitar in the 20th century is to be found in the "Preludes" ofHeitor Villa-Lobos,a Brazilian composer of the early twentieth century. Although classical guitar composerFrancisco Tárregaused it before him, modern musicians use Villa-Lobos's version to this day. Power chords' use in rock music can be traced back to commercial recordings in the 1950s.Robert Palmerpointed toelectric bluesguitaristsWillie JohnsonandPat Hare,both of whom played forSun Recordsin the early 1950s, as the true originators of the power chord, citing as evidence Johnson's playing onHowlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years"(recorded 1951) and Hare's playing onJames Cotton's "Cotton Crop Blues"(recorded 1954).Scotty MooreopenedElvis Presley's 1957 hit "Jailhouse Rock"with power chords.The "power chord" as known to modern electric guitarists was popularized first byLink Wray,who built on the distorted electric guitar sound of early records and by tearing the speaker cone in his 1958 instrumental "Rumble."

A laterhit songbuilt around power chords was "You Really Got Me"bythe Kinks,released in1964.This song'sriffsexhibit fast power-chord changes.The Who's guitarist,Pete Townshend,performed power chords with a theatrical windmill-strum,for example in "My Generation".OnKing Crimson'sRedalbum,Robert Frippthrashed with power chords.Power chords are important in many forms ofpunk rockmusic. Many punk guitarists used only power chords in their songs, most notablyBillie Joe ArmstrongandDoyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.

Techniques

Power chords are often performed within a single octave, as this results in the closest matching of overtones. Octave doubling is sometimes done in power chords. Power chords are oftenpitchedin a middle register.

Shown above are four examples of an F5 chord. The letter names above the chords only indicate which different voicing is being used, and should not be conflated with the chord names typically used in popular music (e.g., C Major, B minor, etc.) A common voicing is the 1–5 perfect fifth (A), to which the octave can be added, 1-5-1 (B). A perfect fourth 5-1 (C) is also a power chord, as it implies the "missing" lower 1 pitch. Either or both of the pitches may be doubled an octave above or below (D is 5-1-5-1), which leads to another common variation, 5-1-5 (not shown).

Spider chords

Spider chord on D and B♭.The "web" of lines in the tab between each successive fret shows the fingering order (5-6-7-8 fingered 1-2-3-4 on strings 5-6-4-5).

Thespider chordis aguitar techniquepopularized during the 1980sthrash metalscene. Regarded as being popularized and named byDave MustaineofMegadeth,it is used to reducestring noisewhen playing (mostlychromatic)riffsthat require chords across severalstrings.Thechordor technique is used in the songs "Wake Up Dead","Holy Wars... The Punishment Due",and"Ride the Lightning".

D5 Bb5
e|-------|
B|-------|
G|-------|
D|-7-----|
A|-5--8--|
E|----6--|
3 <
1 4 <--Spider chord fingering
2 <

As seen in the abovetab,the two power chords may be played in succession withoutshifting,making it easier and quicker,and thus avoiding string noise. The normalfingeringwould be$_{1}^{3}$for both chords, requiring a simultaneous shift andstring change.Note that the two power chords are amajor thirdapart: if the first chord is thetonicthe second is the minorsubmediant.The spider chord fingering also allows access to amajor seventh chordwithout thethird:

AM7
e|------|
B|------|
G|------|
D|--6---|
A|--7---|
E|--5---|
3
4
2

The spider chord requires the player to use all four fingers of the fretting hand, thus its name. This technique then allows one to run down theneckplaying either of the two chords.

Fingering

Perhaps the most common implementation is 1-5-1', that is, the root note, a note a fifth above the root, and a note an octave above the root. When the strings are a fourth apart, especially the lower four strings instandard tuning,the lowest note is played with some fret on some string and the higher two notes are two frets higher on the next two strings. Using standard tuning, notes on the first or second string must be played one fret higher than this. (Abare fifthwithout octave doubling is the same, except that the highest of the three strings, in brackets below, is not played. A bare fifth with the bass note on the second string has the samefingeringas one on the fifth or sixth string.)

G5A5D5E5G5A5D5A5
E||----------------------------------------------(10)---(5)----|
B||--------------------------------(8)----(10)----10-----5-----|
G||------------------(7)----(9)-----7------9------7------2-----|
D||----(5)----(7)-----7------9------5------7-------------------|
A||-----5------7------5------7---------------------------------|
E||-----3------5-----------------------------------------------|

An inverted barre fifth, i.e. a barre fourth, can be played with one finger, as in the example below, from the riff in "Smoke on the Water"byDeep Purple:

G5/DBb5/FC5/GG5/DBb5/FDb5/AbC5/G
E||------------------------|----------------------|
B||------------------------|----------------------|
G||*------3—5--------------|-------3—6---5--------|
D||*--5—3---5--------------|---5—3---6—5----------|
A||---5--------------------|---5------------------|
E||------------------------|----------------------|

|-----------------------|---------------------||
|-----------------------|---------------------||
|------3—5---3—0--------|--------------------*||
|---5—3---5—3---0-------|--------------------*||
|---5-------------------|---------------------||
|-----------------------|---------------------||

Another implementation used is 5-1'-5', that is, a note a fourth below the root, the root note, and a note a fifth above the root. (This is sometimes called a "fourth chord", but usually the second note is taken as the root, although it's not the lowest one.) When the strings are a fourth apart, the lower two notes are played with some fret on some two strings and the highest note is two frets higher on the next string. Of course, using standard tuning, notes on the first or second string must be played one fret higher.

D5E5G5A5D5A5D5G5
E||-----------------------------------------------5------10----|
B||---------------------------------10-----5------3------8-----|
G||-------------------7------9------7------2-----(2)----(7)----|
D||-----7------9------5------7-----(7)----(2)------------------|
A||-----5------7-----(5)----(7)--------------------------------|
E||----(5)----(7)----------------------------------------------|

With thedrop D tuning—or any other dropped tuning for that matter—power chords with the bass on the sixth string can be played with one finger, and D power chords can be played on three open strings.

D5E5
E||----------------
B||----------------
G||----------------
D||--0-------2-----
A||--0-------2-----
D||--0-------2-----

Occasionally, open, "stacked" power chords with more than three notes are used indrop D.

E||--------------------------5---
B||--3-------5-------7-------3---
G||--2-------4-------6-------2---
D||--0-------2-------4-------0---
A||--0-------2-------4-------0---
D||--0-------2-------4-------0---

See also

• Overtone
• Intermodulation
• Electronic tuner

References

• Denyer, Ralph (1992). "Playing the guitar, pp. 65–160, and The chord dictionary, pp. 225–249".The guitar handbook.Special contributorsIsaac Guilloryand Alastair M. Crawford; Foreword byRobert Fripp(Fully revised and updated ed.). London and Sydney:Pan Books.ISBN0-330-32750-X.

Further reading

• Crawshaw, Edith A. H. (1939)."What's Wrong with Consecutive Fifths?".The Musical Times,Vol. 80, No. 1154. (Apr., 1939), pp. 256–257.(subscription required)

External links

• Guitar Lesson – Various power chord shapes and exercises