Broken Powerchords

I would like to tell all you metal guitar players something:

I experimented with power chords someday and then I came across a math metal band, called Dillinger Escape Plan. They played very strange accords:

|-----|
|-----|
|-----|
|--7--|
|--6--|
|--5--|

First thing I thought was, what the heck is that?

Only a few weeks later, when I was writing a song with my band, I realized that those chords can have a very good sound if you can use them right, so I decided to share the newly obtained knowledge.

At first, if we look at Power chords, we can see that they are simply a combination of 2 tones: the tonic and the quint. Therefore the 5.

  A5
|-----|
|-----|
|-----|
|--7--|
|--7--|
|--5--|

That is simply an A power chord, it consists out of a A and a E, the tonic and the quint. If we now play a short riff that I thought of for this lesson:

   E  E  E  S S S S S E S E
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|
|--7--7--7--------------5-7--|
|--7--7--7--------5-6-7------|
|--5--5--5--5-7-8------------|

The riff sounds pretty happy, doesn't it? Notice that there already is a D# in the scale. That is important, because the "Broken Power Chord" is nothing else than playing a D# instead of a E in the A power chord. So it is actually just a A5b chord.
The quint goes a half step down. So now I figured, maybe this riff sounds just a little bit more "metal" if we replace the A5 with a A5b. Now play the second riff:

   E  E  E  S S S S S E S E
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|
|----------------------------|
|--7--7--7--------------5-7--|
|--6--6--6--------5-6-7------|
|--5--5--5--5-7-8------------|

Yes. You're right. The only difference is the chord, the riff is still the same.
But NOW, the riff sounds a lot spookier. And that is EXACTLY what many metal bands need. If someone is interested in what the riff sounded like in the song that I wrote, I can tab it out:

  E E E E E E E E 
|-----------------|
|-----------------|
|-----------------|4x
|-----------------|
|-----------------|
|-0-2-3-4-3-2-0-2-|

  Q Q Q Q
|---------|
|---------|
|---------|
|-3-3-3-3-|
|-2-2-2-2-|
|-1-1-1-1-|

And just repeat that a lot... The speed is pretty darn high, something around 210... I hope that this lesson will bring you to a new level of metal.

If it does, e-mail me.

Sincerely yours, Beast Shredder

Comments

[Blas3]

Accord in English is called Chord
nice idea, but I thought something bigger for a lesson

[blues_man_88]

Its just using a diminished 5th Chord, im more partial to using an augmented 5th interval to padd my riffs out but i suppose diminished would sound more "spooky"

[theiszone]

I have to admit that I get confused with words like "Quint" When I studied a Quint would be called a dominate especially when used with a word like "tonic"
Terms have changed over the years and I'm still in the past. I still have my first Jay Arnold chord book
It has 7500 different chord positions and inversions,
for example the are 21 different ways to play a B 11
how about 28 Bmi6 chords. The book is getting old > 30 years, but I can't find anything to replace it. any suggestions.

[theiszone]

Buy the way I don't know metal but like your lesson.

[Echoplex]

It can also be called a tritone 5th chord (because of the flat 5th)

[sayhi666sal]

hmmm...

*think think*

[izzizz]

Interesting. . . (:

[Xeanor]

Aye, this is the tritone. Hate Eternal relies on these for their unique sound as well. This chord was banned from the middle ages termed as "diabolus in musica". The interval is 6-6-6 as well.

[hoody.hoody]

This is a power chord from Locric scale.
It's something like simplifying the chord Adim, but sometimes u can also say it 's a part of D7.

[cleptobismal]

Did you come up with the name of that chord, because it's called augmented, other than that it's a good lesson

[Gusco]

It's just an A augmented chord, nothing to do with "weird" or "broken" powerchords. Add another D# at the G string and you'll make it even more "spookier"..

[crowchaser]

this is the same chord shape les claypool uses in almost every song he writes: a diminished 5th

[sammo_boi]

this is a nice easy idea. certainly worth a 7 or 8.

[Castro75]

I like the lessons, great for new guys!

[mrnbkn]

yeah i already tried this (I discovered this by mistake) but i didn´t dedicated to study "the theory" behind it, it just sounds nice if used well

[wadsh]

Can you give the formula for 2 chords? Just like for example, A2, D2, and etc. tnx

[wadsh]

Kindly discuss the 4 chords. Is their any difference between A4 and Aadd4?

[ndSinister]

I guess u never listened to bands like Opeth before
they've been using it for years

[SteveHeyn]

nice lesson... this is what a lot of beginner players in this community need:
simple things that can be used right on.
Good Job!

[masterp666]

black sabbath by black sabbath from the album black sabbath. listen to the first three notes played