Power Chords II

The reason why this lesson is for beginners is because power chords are the basics of electric guitar. It's probably the first thing you should learn on electric guitar. It is best coupled for use with distortion as it provides the 'crunch' that you won't get while playing clean. Try playing a power chord (if you know how) clean, and then with distortion to find the difference.

For those you don't know what a power chord is, a power chord is a bare fifth of a chord. However, the definition of 'bare fifth' is too complicated to really comprehend in text, I have got to admit, I don't really understand the term myself. But putting that aside, first I am going to teach you how to play a power chord. You got to remember that all power chords with their roots on the sixth and fifth string requires you to place your index finger (your pointing finger) on the root string. Now what is the root? This is difficult to explain in words. So let's just say I show you a power chord:

F5
e|-------------|
B|-------------|
G|-------------|
D|-3-----------|
A|-3-----------|
E|-1-----------|

The 1 on the E string is the root. That means, whatever you play with your first finger is your root. Why the root? Before I get to that, let me teach you how to play a power chord. For right-handers (generally), hold up your left hand, palm facing up (facing you). It should be like this:

thumb\index finger\middle finger\ring finger\little finger

Now use your index finger to press on fret 1 (root). For beginners, you may want to try bar the other two notes using your ring finger. That means using your ring finger to press two notes at once. The more common, and actually better way of playing a power chord is to use your index for the root note, and the ring and little finger for the rest. Don't arch your fingers when playing a power chord, at least not to much. Just a little comfortable small arch would do; you would soon find your most comfortable position soon. Just as a note, your thumb should be in the midway position of the guitar's neck, the back of it. Don't let your thumb move too high above the midway position of the neck nor too low. This ensures you can stretch well.

Now play the F5 power chord as per above. If are not getting a thick, good sound, check your fingering. In a power chord, your middle finger should never be used. Judge the sound you get. Is it rich in tone? Check your fingering. Don't blame your guitar or amp, check your fingering. Are you pressing the correct frets? Are you pressing hard enough? For beginners who are not used to the guitar, you may want to rectify the problem by asking yourself those questions above. If you can't stretch well enough, try looking where your thumb is. Refer to the fingering section to get a better idea of what I mean. Try this: place your fingers, playing each note as you go, one at a time one the specific frets. Then strum the power chord. Like the sound? Good? Voila! You got it already. Now check your sitting posture. Your guitar should not be lying parallel to your body, it should be at around 45 degrees angle away from your body, to the clockwise direction (for right-handers, left handers is the opposite). Hold your guitar neck upright, don't let it lean on your body, same goes for your elbow. Now try the one-note-at-time technique exercise. You should feel more comfortable. If you don't, read through all over again. Fret positions and Root notes. Look at the tab(s) below:

    E5 F5 F#5 G5 G#5 A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5  D5
e|-----------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------|
D|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--12--|
A|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--12--|
E|--0--1---2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)

    A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5 D5 Eb5 E5 F5 F#5  G5
e|-----------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------------|
G|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10- 11--12--|
D|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--12--|
A|--0---1--2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)
E|-----------------------------------------|

If you notice, for any power chord whose root is on the 6th and 5th strings, the other two notes are ways two notes away from the root. The root, remembered simply, is the note you place your index finger on. But more correctly, it is the note that defines the sound of the power chord. Try playing a full power chord, then play the root. Then, play all the power chords consecutively, moving up the fret as you play along. Then, do the same thing, but play only the the root note. Repeat the power chords again, but when repeating do not play the root note, play the other notes. Sounds different? Which sound is closer to the actual power chord? The one played with the root or the on the one played with the other notes? You should realise by now it is the root note that sounds much closer.

Songs To Try.
Green Day and Blink 182 are very good artists to try if you want to mater power chords. I'd recommend Green Day; their songs are way easier. Here are songs to try.

Beginner.
Sum 41's "Pieces," intro (credit goes to fated2live). Easy, moderate strumming pattern, should be no problem.

Intro/verse (try figure out e strum pattern urself)
e|----------------------------------------------|
B|----------------------------------------------|
G|-7-7-7777----------------------5-5-5555-------|
D|-7-7-7777--8-8-8888--3-3-3333--5-5-5555-------|
A|-5-5-5555--8-8-8888--3-3-3333--3-3-3333-------|
E|-----------6-6-6666--1-1-1111-----------------|

Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams," intro/verse and chorus. Easy song.

Intro/verse x10
e------------------------|
B------------------------|
G-------------8--8-------|
D-3--3--6--6--8--8--8--8-|
A-3--3--6--6--6--6--8--8-|
E-1--1--4--4--------6--6-|

Chorus:
e---------------------------------|
B---------------------------------|
G-6-6-6-6---------8-8-8-8---------|
D-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3-|
A-4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-3-3-3-3-|
E---------4-4-4-4---------1-1-1-1-|

e-------------------------------------------|
B-------------------------------------------|
G--6-6-6-6---------8-8-8-8------------------|
D--6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3----------|
A--4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-3-3-3-3----------|
E----------4-4-4-4---------1-1-1-1----------|

e-------------------------------------------|
B-------------------------------------------|
G--6-6-6-6---------8-8-8-8------------------|
D--6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-8-8-8-8-3-3-3-3----------|
A--4-4-4-4-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-3-3-3-3----------|
E----------4-4-4-4---------1-1-1-1----------|

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

The intermediate songs should only be tried after you have mastered the songs above. These songs combine moderate tempo with nicer sounding riffs.

Green Day's "Welcome To Paradise," intro (credit goes to Rocko). The first thing you need to know about this song is that the guitar is tuned down a half step. Therefore, E is E flat, A is A flat and so on. If you don't want to tune your guitar down, then you'll just have to look up another version which is probably wrong. I'll show you the part in the tab which requires you to tune your guitar down. Or you could just play the tabs anyway, without the right note. I'm just picky about these things. Oh yea, and listen to the song for the correct rythym of strumming.

Intro: Play 4x
e|--------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------|
G|-----9--9-9-9--9-9--7-7-7-------------------|
D|-----9--9-9-9--9-9--7-7-7--7--7-7-7---------|
A|-----7--7-7-7--7-7--5-5-5--7--7-7-7---------|
E|---------------------------5--5-5-5---------|

Green Day's "When I Come Around," intro/verse and chorus (credit goes to blinkracer18269). This song is great, and good for beginners. It also helps that it trains your palm muting, another basic technique. The 'x' below the tab numbers mean palm mute. Tabbed by Dave.

Tuning: Drop Down ½ Step
Eb Bb Gb Db Ab Eb

| / Slide up
| \ Slide down
| h Hammer-on
| /( ) Play note and slide up
| \( ) Play note and slide down
| p Pull-off
| ~ Let Ring
| X Mute note

I know this is the abosolute 100% correct tab to the song because I just bought the tab book for International Superhits! and I was looking around the site and saw none that matched the book so I thought I would be nice.

Intro
Eb|---------------------------------|
Bb|-------------------------8-----5-|
Gb|---0-------------7-------9-----5-|
Db|-x-0-----5-----7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-5-|
Ab|-x---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7-7-3-|
Eb|-x---3-3-3-3-3-------------------|

Rhythm Figure 1
Eb|-----------------------------------------|
Bb|-------------------------8----5---5------|
Gb|----------------7--------9----5---5------|
Db|-5---5------7-7-7-7-7--9-9-9--5---5--7-7-|
Ab|-5-5-5-5-5--5-5-5-5-5--7-7-7--3---3--5-5-|
Eb|-3-3-3-3-3-------------------------------|
 x x x x x x x x x x x

Rhythm Figure 2
Eb|-----------------------------------------|
Bb|-------------------------8----5---5------|
Gb|----------------7--------9----5---5------|
Db|-----5------7-7-7-7-7--9-9-9--5---5--7-7-|
Ab|-5-5-5-5-5--5-5-5-5-5--7-7-7--3---3--5-5-|
Eb|-3-3-3-3-3-------------------------------|
 x x x x x x x x x x x x

Fill
Eb|----|
Bb|-5\-|
Gb|-5\-|
Db|-5\-|
Ab|-3\-|
Eb|----|

Chorus
Eb|--------------------------------------------------------------|
Bb|------------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-------------------5-5-5-5-5-|
Gb|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--5-5-5-5-5-|
Db|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5--2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2--5-5-5-5-5-|
Ab|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--3-3-3-3-3-|
Eb|--------------------------------------------------------------|

I wouldn't call the advanced songs 'difficult', but they are the rather so-called "tough" power chord songs. These songs blend good melody with fast switching of power chords and involves palm muting.

Green Day's "Basket Case," intro (credit goes to Kingo). This song has palm muting and is fast too. Hear the song to get the tempo. The actuall/right version. Tabbed by Kingo [e-mail]. I got this tab from the authentic Greenday-Dookie tab book so it's the real version. Any complaints about it being wrong can go to BJ cause he wrote it!

Guitar tune down 1/2 step
Figure 1:
P.M.
E|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|
B|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|
G|---9---------------|-------------------|-----6-----6-----|-------------------|
D|---7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|-----9-------9-----|-6-6-6-6-6-6---6-|-----6-------6-----|
A|---7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-4-4-|-4-4-4-4-4-4---6-|-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-----|
E|-----------------7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----|-------------4-4-|-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-5-|

E|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|
B|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|-------------------|
G|-----------------9-|-----9-------9-----|-----------------|-------------------|
D|-------7-----7-9-9-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-----|-----9---------9-|-----9-------9-9---|
A|---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-0-0-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-7---|
E|---5-5-5-5-5-5-----|-------------------|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----|

Figure 2:
P.M.
E|--------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B|--------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
G|--------------------|-----------------|-----9---------9-|-----9-------9---|
D|-------7------7---9-|-----9-------9-9-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|
A|---7-7-7-7--7-7-9-9-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|
E|---5-5-5-5--5-5-7-7-|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---|-----------------|-----------------|

Figure 3:
E|--------------------|------------------------|----------------------|
B|---9-----7--7--x--5-|-(5)--5--5---5--5--5----|----------------------|
G|---9-----7--7--x--6-|-(6)--6--6---6--6--6----|----------------------|
D|---9-----7--7--x--6-|-(6)--6--6---6--6--6--7-|-7------------------9-|
A|---7-----7--7--x--4-|-(4)--4--4---4--4--4--7-|-7---7--7--7--7--7--9-|
E|--------------------|----------------------5-|-5---5--5--5--5--5--7-|

E|----------------------------|
B|----------------------------|
G|------------------------9-9-|
D|---(9)--9--9---9--9--9--9-9-|
A|---(9)--9--9---9--9--9--7-7-|
E|---(7)--7--7---7--7--7------|

Figure 4:
E|------------------------|----------------------|
B|---9---x-x-4--4---x-x-5-|-5---x-x-4--4---x-x-9-|
G|---9---x-x-4--4---x-x-6-|-6---x-x-4--4---x-x-9-|
D|---9---x-x-4--4---x-x-6-|-6---x-x-4--4---x-x-9-|
A|---7---x-x-2--2---x-x-4-|-4---x-x-2--2---x-x-7-|
E|------------------------|----------------------|

Green Day's "Nice Guys Finish Last," whole song (credit goes to KoRny Freak). This whole song is fast, and all power chords. Perfect practice for power chords.

Tuning = Standard
intro
|-------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------
|---9-9-9-9-9---------------9-9-9-9-9---------------9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-
|-5-----------5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------

------------------------------------------------|
------------------------------------------------|
---------------9-9-9-9-9----------------------9-|
-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-2----7-9-|
-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-2----7-7-|
-5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------5-7-7-7-7-7-5-0----5---|

verse pm______________________________________|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-----------------9-9-9-9-9-|
|-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|
|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-|
|---------------------------7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----------|

pre chorus
|-----------------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-----------------9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-
|-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----------------5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------------------------------------------|
-----------------9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-----------------4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-----------------|

chorus
|-----------------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------------------------------------------------------
|-----------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-----------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-
|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-
|-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-----------------

-------------------------------------------------------|
-------------------------------------------------------|
-----------------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|
-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-|
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---------------------------------------|


bridge
|-------------------------------------------------------------
|-------------------------------------------------------------
|---9-9-9-9-9---------------9-9-9-9-9---------------9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-
|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-
|-5-----------5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------

-------------------------------------------------------------------|
-------------------------------------------------------------------|
---------------9-9-9-9-9-------------------------------------------|
-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-9-9-9-9-9-6-7-7-7-7-7-6-4-4-4-4-4-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|
-7-9-9-9-9-9-7-7-7-7-7-7-6-7-7-7-7-7-6-4-4-4-4-4-7-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|
-5-7-7-7-7-7-5-----------4-5-5-5-5-5-4-2-2-2-2-2-5-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|

If you have any questions or comments email me at [e-mail]. Now if you have any problems with the tuning, songs or any other questions you wanna ask you can always post a comment below stating your problem. Need the song? Email me and I will send it to you. Hope this lesson has been informative enough for you.

Comments

[TIRxNOVA74]

awesome explaination. that really helped

[a god]

great job even though its a bit beginnerish. still great.

[GeekInThePink]

It sounds like you don't know a thing about music...

[thefoldarsoldar]

most comprehensive power chord lesson I've seen so far.

REQUIRED READING FOR BEGINNERS!

[jaymrock741]

its a really great lesson other than it has green day for an example

[Shabalaba]

Green Day is a good example of powerchords. Good lesson

[Ucoldchili]

there are other bands besides those bloody pop-punk bands that are a disgrace to music

[jonharkulsykkel]

Well, you obviously like green day...

[Clandestine1]

w00t green day!

[ken20008]

lol i dun really like green day now my musical taste has matured by now but then, hey, they are great for power chords aint they?

[ibyluver711]

pretty good just too much green day

[ken20008]

i know i know. i know ppl diss green day a lot. **** yea i know. i wrote this at a time when i loved green day. now i just think they need more difficult stuff and better shit b4 im gonna get looked again. and im a noob in UG. somebody tell me how to edit my own lesson. maybe then i'll remove green day and give more difficult stuff.

[ken20008]

thanks for all the good comments, still.

[jmbq1992]

Green Day sucks!!! My chemical Romance is totally kickass!!! ..!.. anyway you don't even helped me. I'rs for begginers

[sg4ever]

Nice grammar^ and of course it's for beginners. Do you actually need help to play them Mr. You DIDN'T Even HELP me. Only beginners need help to play this. Are you a beginner? Anyway, good explanation of powerchords.

[potter12234]

what a waiste of your and my time you should realy realy get a life and loss the green day

[ken20008]

**** you ****ers coming to my lesson just to diss green day. pls go find a metal band tab full of power chords and learn by yourself. hw about avenged sevenfold? they got enuff power chors to get yor metalheads running. or just go ****ing learn the ****ing basics of how to play a power chord and then go learn another song. i dun need ppl dissing my lesson coz it has green day.

[guitarAce372]

I would tell you how I feel about this lesson, but I can't explain it in words. jk, good for beginners.

[DrOcan]

don't trash green day here, it's a begginer lesson about power chords, and green day is all power chords so it's good for begginers

[DrOcan]

great lesson by the way

[sheppysheepy]

Good lesson, great for beginners. But green day?

[SagaSudaka]

great lesson thx

[soadrox619]

| / Slide up
| \ Slide down
| h Hammer-on
| /( ) Play note and slide up
| \( ) Play note and slide down
| p Pull-off
| ~ Let Ring
| X Mute note

CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THIS STUFF MEANS IM NEW AT THIS?

[Minicabbae]

good lesson

[kckyle]

ergh jeeze u ppl are all haters. wats wroung with greenday. holiday is a pretty good song. i dont see metallica or other rock bands thought of tat song before greenday. and at least nows day their songs are on the billboards. wheres chemical Romance. and A7X?. exactly

[kckyle]

soadrox619. look up these stuff on youtube. maybe thn u can find out wat ur suppose to do

[railmaster]

I thought the lesson was great and helped alot. of course your going to use popular bands as an example they've made it and we have'nt thats why were here!!!

[Switchfoot555]

I've been playing power chords this whole time and I didn't know it?LOL! I've still got a lot to learn.

[raunoa1992]

This is absolutely faboulous! I FINALLY understood power chords.

Thank you for this awesome lesson =)

[foxa5668]

I am very grateful for the lesson. I am glad to see that somebody is willing to step out there and help the new people. I was a fan of green day in the 90's, not so much now, but no matter who you would've picked somebody would be hating, right? Thanks again.

[A_Bear]

i have a little question.say the power chord F5 at the top of the lesson do u only strum on the 3 notes or do u strum every not and does this apply with most tabs? thx

[ken20008]

F5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|-3-----|
A|-3-----|
E| -1-----|

You finger everything, make sure every finger is in place, then strum all at once. it applies to every tab.

Hope it helped.

[ken20008]

btw guys, that email up there is nt my email. somebody else, i dunno, edited my lesson so it reflected his or her's email at the end. Mine's at [e-mail]
or you can PM me if u wan. no spamming though.

Ciao guys.

[ken20008]

also, i need to mention that slight natural arching of the fingers is acceptable. As long as you have a nice power chord sound, you should adjust around to get closest to comfort. And trust me, practice is key.

[carter05]

ken200008 great job from an actual beginner, there is nothing wrong with any of the song's picked for this leeson. anybody with comments about the songs chosen, write your own lesson ,submit it , we'll try it and ctitique yours.

[slayer!@!]

good job it helped alot bc i always had a hard time with powerchords thx

[JukeB0X Hero]

dunno if any1 has already suggested this but nirvana has some awesome songs if you wanna work with power chords.
if ur anti-punk then u can try grunge i guess lol

[spikedemon!]

simple music isn't bad music. Im sure by now these 'punk' bands used as an example could play more than power chords, but they dont want to. think about that.....i still am

[ken20008]

hmmm....smells like teen spirit?
or lithium or rape me(lol) if u wanna try grunge....
nickelback is great too....

[cold45]

This lesson that you did is really important to the beginner guitar players, because they should know the different positions of power chords and thx for adding some songs to explain the whole thing, that was helpful.

[LG_thing]

Really good explanation for beginners.

[Carney]

Is it really worth the hassle of doing all this to get criticised?

[jasonho1987]

i just wanted to point out that wherever you got "bare 5th" from, it's refering to the fact that the chord only uses the root note and the 5th note of the scale.

[walampangalan]

Hey man! Great tab, nevermind the bullshit comments about your tab, green day sucks for me though, but I'm a beginner in playing the guitar so whatever lesson that you and other UG members post is a big help for me, thanks a lot man! JMBQ1992 your a disgrace to music lovers, why do you look at this lesson anyway? Are you a newbie metalhead wannabe?

[Nhex]

jay3213 wrote:

Ucoldchili wrote:

there are other bands besides those bloody pop-punk bands that are a disgrace to music

yur a discrace to music! punk is a 21st century thing yu like old rock. just shut up and keep yur music to yurself

hey look to me Im the modern guy ahahah

well at least I can appreciate both centuries in music learn something from the 60's future man make love not war and bring it to your 21st century ahaha

hey old school guy dont keep it to yourself old stuff will always be that one kind of special music

[ken20008]

Carney wrote:

Is it really worth the hassle of doing all this to get criticised?

You know what? i really dont care.

Im a metalhead now and i still agree, grunge and pop punk are probably the things for beginners to learn.

Dont bash simple music. I still listen to Green Day or even Simple Plan oncein a while.You know, too much metal can mess yr head. Unless its Tool.

[qwertyman12321]

you guys, come on were humans

[qwertyman12321]

we like different things!

[qwertyman12321]

jonharkulsykkel wrote:

Well, you obviously like green day...

Dude, it doesn't matter what we like....it's...it's...normal to like different stuff

[qwertyman12321]

Ken, your a good guy and you have a good mind to help beginners!

[ghostofhendrix]

There are other types of power chords that u could've gone into other than the standard root 5 that evry1 seems to use and has been played to death. How about add9 or add6? even triads can give a much nicer feel to a song than standard power chords and they're relatively easy to play. I personally think that power chords are great but they are immensely overused by because people don't know that there are alternatives.

[ken20008]

ghostofhendrix wrote:

There are other types of power chords that u could've gone into other than the standard root 5 that evry1 seems to use and has been played to death. How about add9 or add6? even triads can give a much nicer feel to a song than standard power chords and they're relatively easy to play. I personally think that power chords are great but they are immensely overused by because people don't know that there are alternatives.

err its a beginners lesson. I think that its easier for them to start out with the basic stuff. Thanks for the comment anyway

[Catarpiller7]

For all the people who gave irrelevant criticism, I pity you. You obviously don't get that even though this isn't your style of music that this is helping other people. To the author, I feel this was a great lesson. I am not a beginner, but I never new the names of all the power chords. This helped me out a lot, especially for writing out tabs for other songs. THANKS!

[*J-rock*]

good lesson, but did you have to go with green day like common...

[MrFalsafa]

thanks for the lesson, it helped me a lot

[RemM]

Ty Ken

[RemM]

Ty for lesson, v useful.

[joeyramoney]

yur a discrace to music! punk is a 21st century thing yu like old rock. just shut up and keep yur music to yurself

that was precious.

[rokknrollldude]

yur a discrace to music! punk is a 21st century thing yu like old rock. just shut up and keep yur music to yurself

if u want good punk look to the Clash, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.....punk is not just a 21st century thing

[rokknrollldude]

JoeyRamoney said:
"yur a discrace to music! punk is a 21st century thing yu like old rock. just shut up and keep yur music to yurself"

if u want good punk look to the Clash, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.....punk is not just a 21st century thing

sry bout the double post i just want to clarify that im not on Joey Ramoneys side

[rosecityboy1990]

are power chords exclusive to the 6th and 5th strings or is there such a thing as power chords on the rest of the strings (i.e. 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st)? and if so could you please direct me as to where i could find these?

[bennylifegiver]

This is one of those gr8 lessons for begginers,good job

[rokstar666]

good lesson for beginners. seems like a few people are forgetting that just about all genres use root 5 power chords at some point. From metallica to green day, guns n roses, nirvana....keep crankin out the lessons man

Checked.

[sadistic shred]

Pretty good descriptions. And i agree with the others, that realllly helped.

[punisher283]

ken20008 wrote:

Carney wrote:

Is it really worth the hassle of doing all this to get criticised?


You know what? i really dont care.

Im a metalhead now and i still agree, grunge and pop punk are probably the things for beginners to learn.

Dont bash simple music. I still listen to Green Day or even Simple Plan oncein a while.You know, too much metal can mess yr head. Unless its Tool.

hell yeah metal rocks like uh metal oh and to every one who disses nirvana i bet you can find one of your fav. bands that took somethin from them so SHUT THE **** ABOUT THEM!!!

[punisher283]

oh good lesson man

[Sharizal]

Hey,I need help with power chord struming.
Let's take F5 for an example.
So do I need to strum all the 6 strings or just the 3 strings?
Thanx!

[Sharizal]

Hey,I need help with power chord struming.
Let's take F5 for an example.
So do I need to strum all the 6 strings or just the 3 strings?
Thanx!

[nobleman8700]

thanks, big time help. For those with the negative comments....get a life!!

[jmack9909]

yo, i just got my guitar yesterday and i don't understand what the numbers are on the chords
like this
F5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|-3-----|
A|-3---- -|
E|-1-----|
whats the numbers mean ?
thanks

[jmack9909]

or this as a better example

E5 F5 F#5 G5 G#5 A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5 D5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8 --9--10--11--12--|
A|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--1 2--|
E|--0--1---2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)

A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5 D5 Eb5 E5 F5 F#5 G5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10- 11--12--|
D|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--12--|
A|- -0---1--2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)
E|-----|

[-fez-]

good but its a bit sad that green day only know how to play power chords and their guitarist sucks so much he cant play anything else

[adammarbrow]

Yeah, Im sure there so bummed about sucking...he must be like "gee, i wish i could play more than power chords. I guess ill console myself by counting my millions"

Jackass

[adammarbrow]

Oh, and thanks for the lesson man. Greenday not really my type of thing but i knew the songs so it made it easier when i was playing..thanks again

[alohoonsoo]

nice job, that really help me, i really like the sogn of bollevard of broken dreams and it be identic, you can explain so well,

[MtvRockstar2]

ugh yes i kno wayyyyy to much greenday

[MrMyrmidon]

Yeah is't nice to begin with these kind of things, just basic and already you'ev learned some songs, you explain very whell !! :p great job

[Bassdrummer]

Knew most of the stuff, but thanks anyway.

[Dillusional99]

Um, I want to learn all this and everything but i dont know how to read tabs yet =[ i was wondering if you could teach me i emailed u
my emil is

[e-mail]


Ty for everything

[Onion57]

Thanks for the lesson ken20008, it really helped me learn basic power chords, for I'm a guitar n00b. I also don't know why everyone here seems to hate Green Day (because their music is more simple? makes no sense...). Just so you know, I gave you a 10/10.

[kerazyguy]

sorry guys i got a sortof noob question hope someone know's... on tab's in general not just power chords. when a 0 is on a string what are you suposed to do? just ignore it? and if so why do they put it there ... for instance up at the lesson is say's to do this
E5 F5 F#5 G5 G#5 A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5 D5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8 --9--10--11--12--|
A|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--1 2--|
E|--0--1---2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)

A5 Bb5 B5 C5 C#5 D5 Eb5 E5 F5 F#5 G5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10- 11--12--|
D|--2---3--4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11--12--|
A|- -0---1--2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)
E|-----|
/\
----- questionable 0... (confuzed)

[hrly11507]

Thank you KEN2008.I'm a beginner and you lesson explained a lot.I just need to brush up on reading the
note sheet's,Or tab's.Can you show something about reading?Hey Kerazyguy,I think the 0 mean's strum it open.

[kerazyguy]

ok. so then i asume you JUST strum A-D-G ??? and what if they are seperated as in i've seen
e|-----|
B|--0---|
G|-----|
D|-----|
A|-----|
E|--0-- -|(ROOT)

in that case would i pick them instead of strum them? as in Pick E-B and in what order do i pick them? it's all so cunfuzing..lol

[hrly11507]

kerazguy:I know a little about reading,Yes it is somewhat confusing,Lets wait and see if Ken20008 responds to ower questions.

[creedster]

Nice lesson man. It's really helped me a lot!!! Now i am the powerchord MASTERR!! or not.. But i'm ma way. Cheers.

[silverline]

ok, i'm a beginner, and i really don't have a clue...just one question...do i strum at all the strings when i play a power chord, or just the strings i'm holding in?
i know, stupid question...but hey it's better to ask and do it right...tanks for the lesson anyways^^

[dustyxx21]

If there is a 0 it would be played open, if there are no numbers they aren't played.

"ok. so then i asume you JUST strum A-D-G ??? and what if they are seperated as in i've seen
e|-----|
B|--0---|
G|-----|
D|-----|
A|-----|
E|--0-- -|(ROOT)

in that case would i pick them instead of strum them? as in Pick E-B and in what order do i pick them? it's all so cunfuzing..lol"

Pick E with your thumb and B with your finger, both at the same time

[gavz_verdikt]

though i m good @ power chords this surely helped me

with ur tabs nd examples i will give u a 10 outta 10 =)

[Uzername]

Great lesson =D I'm a complete noob at guitar so this helped me immensely..

[the1nonlycrazi]

...actually its a perfect 5th... dont know where you got bare from... also its deffinitly not to complicated for text... power chords are usually just a perfect 5th interval with the octave added on the d string however... with just the two fingers on the e and a strings its only a perfect 5th... the extra finger on the octave just makes the power chord sound brighter...

[muchas]

it's a perfect lesson for beginners.. nice job..

[muchas]

it's a perfect lesson.. for beginners of course.. but you did a nice job..

[muchas]

kerazyguy wrote:

ok. so then i asume you JUST strum A-D-G ??? and what if they are seperated as in i've seen
e|-----|
B|--0---|
G|-----|
D|-----|
A|-----|
E|--0-- -|(ROOT)

in that case would i pick them instead of strum them? as in Pick E-B and in what order do i pick them? it's all so cunfuzing..lol

hey men, 0 means you'll strum them open like:
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|--2--3---4--5---6--7- --8--9--10--11--12--|
A|--2--3---4--5---6--7---8--9--10--11 --12--|
E|--0--1---2--3---4--5---6--7--8---9---10--|(ROOT)

---means---
D|--E--F--F#--G--G#--A--Bb--B--C---C#--D---|
A|--B--C--C#--D--Eb--F--F#--G--G#--A---Bb--|
E|--E--F--F#-- G--G#--A--Bb--B--C---C#--D---| (root)

this will correspond where will you put your fingers in it..

[555.Nase]

lol greenday

[Josh92West]

Hey Man thanx for the tips. this lesson got mr=e rite bak in the swing of things. using Green Day was a good idea i could really recognise what i was playing. (A*) ADD ME PLZ

[schatten529]

Great lesson, thanks! Don't worry about these D-Bags, the whole point of these lessons are to understand concepts, not play the songs by their favorite artists. If they were good enough to do that, they wouldn't bother flaming a beginners lesson!

[ken20008]

thanks for all the great comments!

[ken20008]

and pleaase please please dun email that account there. its not mine. thks.
pm me instead here

[Altinibanez]

this is great lesson man

[Jk3y]

good for beginners but I'm sure not everyone likes green day, more variety is needed, otherwise ppl get bored.

still a great read but looking for a more in depth lesson about powerchords....or is that it O_o

[B345T]

You missed power chords with roots on the 4th string =\

[dbdarrell]

Drop the the green day man. Most bands use power chords I recomend the Misfits to practice them

[spankygas]

great beginners lesson ken! ignore all the lame comments from the kids. examples need to be recognisable and this hits the mark perfectly. top sh*t.

[MrChris]

ffs the point of the lesson wasnt which band is better then the other. I cant believe how ignorant people are... Bigger picture guys. Powercords. get over the green day examples.

Funny thing is no one would have said shit if you didnt say the tabs were from greenday. i cant believe how elitist these wankers are.

top lesson mate 10/10

[blkjackmusic]

Having trouble pushing strings down with the ring finger. Any sort of hand strengthening exercies? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[blkjackmusic]

Having trouble pushing strings down with the ring finger. Are there any hand strengthening exercises that may help?
Any advice appreciated.

[ken20008]

hand strengthening? only way to do tat; practice.
If theres a song you wanna do (make sure its easy enough), practise. Any professional guitarist or even just decent ones got to where they are to practise.

Iron maiden have some easy power chord rhythm parts. Tool has some cool Dropped d riffs if u already understand drop d tuning.
Mainly punk bands use power chords, other bands use them too, but they usually drop the tunings so you can play it one hand.
anyway guys im learning to shred now. My practising arpeggios like mad.
cya guys again soon.

[perry_d52]

ken, Cheers for the power chord lessons. I`m a beginner and the info is very useful. Keep the advice comin` bro...forget the other negative comments from wanna beeees

[fnmhero]

TAKE NO NOTICE OF THE SPUDS , ANYONE TRYING TO HELP A BEGINNER SHOULD THANKED NOT SLAGED . TA MATE .

[kidcasey13]

Thanks for the lesson man -- **** those people who are crapping on your lesson.

I really appreciate this

[stephanp]

its a nice guide i just have the problem my guitar doesnt sound right :/ so i kinda have to figure out if im doing it good or not.

I dont know how to make the tune on my guitar right couldnt find the word.

[ken20008]

shit man, ug mixed up my comments.

anyway dont be ****tards and post green day sucks here. go to a green day page or somewhere else.

and i like green day. theres nth wrong with liking something.

[neomagic]

Thanks for the lesson fella. Appreciate the time you took to help me improve. New to playing but enjoyin every second of it. Who cares if its Greenday or whatever, everyones tastes differ, sureley only the small minded disrespect other peoples opinions and tastes.

[Sorath]

great lesson

And no maybe greenday isn't that good.., butdoes it matter?.., the most important thing is that people can learn from them..

hehe..and at least they could be used as a bad example :P
or a beginner's song

[ken20008]

actually, green day is good. They are in my music playlist and still nice to listen to once in a while.

[fender-fretter*]

umm i think this might be correct but i am not excatly sure are the numbers signify the frets!?

[flame2k2]

I'm workin on power chords. Green Day isn't my favorite band of all time, but hell whatever makes me play better i'll do it. Thanks for the lesson Ken. Don't listen to these douches. rock on

[jamessims]

to the people that want to know how to play good songs using drop D power chords so you don't need to keep changing finger positions then look no further:-
Here's a song I will tell you that I have wrote myself
E|-----|
G|-----|
B|-----|
D|-12-12-12-12-12-10-1 0-10-10-10-8-8-8-8-8-|
A|-12-12-12-12-12-10-10-10-10-10-8-8 -8-8-8-|
D|-12-12-12-12-12-10-10-10-10-10-8-8-8-8-8-|

Th is is the second part but as soon as you've done the first part go straight on to the second but please don't say this song is yours because I've told you all my first tune I wrote and I'm proud of it!!!!!
E|-----|
G|-----|
B|-----|
D|-10-10-10-10-10-12- 12-12-12-12-|
A|-10-10-10-10-10-12-12-12-12-12-|
D|-10-10- 10-10-10-12-12-12-12-12-|

Experiment with adding notes to it, this is the easiest way to do power chords with the 3 thickest strings and even if you do them in standard EGBDAE tuning then it will sound the same don't forget that to tune your guitar to drop D all you have to do is match the 6th string to the 4th string when in standard E tuning

[jamessims]

by the way to the person who wrote this you'd be a good guitar teacher I don't need many lessons because I can do all techniques but for a vote of confidence keep it up dude!!!!! you'll gain alot of respect from teaching people properly oh yeah to the people reading my last post sorry for the spelling mistakes I was typing it fast and I forgot to check it before posting it

[jamessims]

and finally if anyone wants to know some of my techniques (they're more advanced) then email me at
[e-mail] don't hesitate to ask

[moink01]

thankz 4 this.. it did help me.. a little

[moink01]

by the way.. a friend told me that.. "Your guardian angel" by red jumpsuit apparatus.. uses power chords..(???)

[Ajl5674]

hey this did really help me out learning the power chords and proper technique

[Jhoan2134]

they suck...

Rock...

[macfan90]

I'm honestly not impressed by people who use power chords. I should say over use them because they ARE incredibly over used.

[Kw1q51lv3r]

Dude... Power chords are considered "over-used" because it IS a basic technique.

[Freestone92]

Im a total beginner...so this is outta my league...
but im taking a look at it once i understand what it is!

oh yeah...get lifes Green Day haters....theyre great...

[newby101]

thanks for the help man i just really suck at guitar lol but yea...Why do people come to diss green day who cares...They are great to explain power chords thanks again!@!

[D1CEx666]

stop talking about green day,
like them or u don't.

Thnks bro for this awsome power chord lesson. i haven't finished yet, but its helping me alot thanks again.

[punkrocker09]

It's a good lesson for beginners, good job, and to you people harshly criticisng it for being a beginner's lesson, if you don't remember you were all beginners at one point in your life,so stop complaining.

[guitars.r.cool]

thAT was freaking awesome!!!!!
awesome lesson, awesome job, 100% freaking Awesomeness!

[wydawg]

Great lesson never actually knew the notes until i read this. good job!

[quantummushroom]

thanks! that helped, great lesson!

[JustinNiklaus]

way way way too much green day for me.

[philby27]

Nice job. Really well described and considerate to peoples possible learning experiences and hurdles.

I can't believe the immaturity of some of the people on here that badmouth or insult someone for taking their own time to try and pass on their knowledge. And as for slating Greenday for being crap? Well I wouldn't mind their gigs or money. And they have a pretty good chart history don't they. They must be doing something right.

[FloubasFlemanca]

anyone who criticize you for being beginner is very ignorant. Anyone like me who started learning guitar during the green day/blink 182 era would know that power chords are not an easy concept to grasp at first

[Tsuchiya]

Thank you for the tutorial, it is quite constructive and it is appreciated by the beginners here!

Greenday or not, the focus here is to try and learn power cords and this guide is a great help in that respect!

[spechell]

I cannot even start to play these cords. I just bought this guitar, and I can't seem to get it.

[ken20008]

If you dont like green day as a tool for learning power chords then check out iron maiden or metallica...or any band you listen to that uses power chords.

You are supposed to adapt what you've learnt here into playing other songs other than Green Day.

Thanks for all the great comments here. I love you guys

[SotirikoN]

You've done a great job! Nice choice of band for explaining, although they make me feel sick. Power chords are the easiest way to learn how to play the guitar. As you develop your playing skills, you’ll find that P C are crap compared to everything else you need to know ‘bout guitar playing. …And to all of you morons that criticize this lesson, if you think your so good at playing why do you even bother to read this? It clearly says Power Chords for BEGGINERS! And to those who dislike G D, play something else like Metallica, Iron Maiden... Keep up with the good work. There are people out there that need your help

[max1107]

tnx for the help

[Sweetmeskills16]

So ur leeson helped me alittle but i am trying to play the acoustic guitar not electric, i'm guessing there are things i need to do differently but your lesson does not tell me those things, maybe you could make a lesson that helps begginers on an acoustic guitar to... but i really liked your lesson to. if you could jus send me a message telling me the differences that would be alot easier to. thanks

[ken20008]

You can play anything on acoustic....its still a six string guitar..lol

but the difference is that acoustic re better suited for playing major and minor chords and also if you want to give you songs are different feel. So yeah, check out the chords lessons here.

[slice101]

thanks for the help, note to everyone else, leave the guy alone about greenday. if they suck so much, then why do they make more money than you?

[twiggy101]

just leave green day alone they might be the best band and hell i dont like them but if it gets you learnin how to play guitar like it has for me then thats all that counts good lesson it really helped

[Soccham]

Great lesson, it helped me alot. I started guitar not too long ago and this really helped me so much. I didn't know what power chords were really before this.

-Socc

And for the guys giving you shit about greenday, don't listen to them, their an amazing beginner band

[Soah]

Nice!

[billdela]

This is great thanks.

[Newtoguitar]

For all the idiots who are giving him crap about his Green Day tabs:

I think Green Day are shit. You think Green Day is shit. You wish to learn Power Chords. What the hell does it matter if Green Day are crap, your learning how to play Power Chords, not trying produce cool music. Green Day tabs are being used for an example - don't use them and go cry to your death metal, practice that! Does he tell you that you HAVE to play Green Day to learn? No. So piss off and learn them yourselves. Get off UG, nobody wants your criticisms unless them are useful.

Anyway, thanks for the great lesson, mate!

[ken20008]

nice one mate.

[Tacfire11]

This was a great article, and truly appreciate the amount of time you spent on tabbing out the example songs. Great job. Thanks

[sukumar_katam]

m danda

[I_Am_In_Flames]

rokknrollldude wrote:

yur a discrace to music! punk is a 21st century thing yu like old rock. just shut up and keep yur music to yurself

if u want good punk look to the Clash, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.....punk is not just a 21st century thing

Sex Pistols have got to be the most annoying band i've ever heard lol

[I_Am_In_Flames]

moink01 wrote:

by the way.. a friend told me that.. "Your guardian angel" by red jumpsuit apparatus.. uses power chords..(???)

If you play it in Drop-D then yes it uses power cords but their rooted to a single finger.. its much easier that playing power cords like this with the rooted fifth.

[midimcnasty]

I have been playing about two years, and was looking for some good starting lessons for a friend who is just getting started. I wish I had found this one two years ago, would have sped things up a little. I am a little shocked at seeing unwarranted criticism for choosing a punk band (which I think has been eloquently pointed out as band that uses tons of power chords in their music, wait let me see this IS a LESSON ABOUT POWER CHORDS!!) to illustrate the concepts. I guess it just goes to show that there still are small minded and ignorant wanna be’s everywhere. Though I though most of the Metal Dude version had died, from chronic oil asphyxiation from their hair, or 13 years of perpetual unemployment. It seems a little shallow to criticize what I thought was a great lesson, because of the source material used to illustrate its concepts. Then again, I guess that’s to be expected from those who likely don’t play themselves, but sit up late at night fondling their BC Rich telling themselves that “one day” they will learn to play, if the ever get past reading single syllable sentences so they can work up to the “big” stuff.
Anyhow, great lesson man. Thanks for putting it together.

[Chinchilla641]

Well, I'm not a noob, I just didn't know the names of the chords cos I ever bothered to learn them. This lesson taught me some something, so I give it a 10/10.
Ken, great lesson.
Haters, **** off.
I personally like Green Day. If you got a problem with Green Day leave it off of U G. Its sad you shit-mouth jackasses have no life other than spewing crap on a guys lesson just cos he tries to help the newbies out and just happens to use Green Day as an example. He's using Green Day as a way to teach. If you D-bags are so ****ing good, why are you looking up lessons on power chords? Plus no ones making you listen to Green Day. Its not like you clicked on this lesson and GD music started playing. Most of you just envy GD for the fact that they use such simple techniques and still make more cash and get more ass than you.

Oh, Ken, I sent you an email asking for some songs.
Hope you reply.
Way to go taking your time to teach the easy stuff, some one had to. Ignore these shit heads and their hate speeches. I like A7X just as much as GD.
Cool lesson, hoping to see more in the future(hopefully some advanced ones).

[Juanfra89]

sounds like you really like green day, but to the people who don´t like that band... but i think that the explamation is really good, just try to advanced a little in your musical tastes... ECUADOR!!!

[Chinchilla641]

ok sure,
please, don't rub it in.
it was a good game though.
GUATEMALA!!!

[jimjim25]

Thank you and I appreciate you taking the time to do this. Dont let ill mannered people drag u down. Keep rockin!

[SmokinMetalhead]

Man this lesson is great and your examples of power chords are great to even if I dont like Green day I dont care if I learn a few of their songs to learn guitar playing your examples were very good they helped me alot thanks man for this lesson for all beginners like me xD

[motormouth4]

So are power chords the best form of chords to use on the electric? im getting a bit confused, i am a classical an acoustic guitarist and these remind me of barre chords, what if you just put a bar where the root was?

[ken20008]

motormouth4 wrote:

So are power chords the best form of chords to use on the electric? im getting a bit confused, i am a classical an acoustic guitarist and these remind me of barre chords, what if you just put a bar where the root was?

my music theory sucks....sorry...try asking others here....

[rokstar666]

^to motormouth4^ yea power chords are like barres without playing the treb strings. you could put a whole barre where the power chords. However, the root 5 has an ambiguous tonality which makes it easy to sing a variety of melodies over, which is why it's preffered in rock style guitar....hope that helps.

[calum_102]

great lesson, im new to guitar and it really helped me understand power chords
does it really matter that he used a band you dont like to explain something you didnt know?
and if you do know it y were you reading it anyway?

but great lesson (Y) thumbs up

[sanigrip]

awesome! its a great help =)

[GcMetalhead]

Awsome explanation! Perfectly explained

[sgrims2005]

my god, iv ben thro nearly aal them comments. hardly any of u got nethin good to say about this lesson, if u fucing hommos so good at ur guitar then why are u looking at begginer stuf. stop dissin tis lesson. if u dont like **** off to another lesson thats a bt harder for you. u all seem like u got nothing going in your sad lifes and all u can do is pik on other people to get a kick. if u got nothing good to say thn dont say any thing...

good job man, i like!

[greendragon40]

i love reading how people hate each other in these types of things :-{)

[G.Krizzel]

check this out:

A C D
A C #D D
A C D
C A

[September_Ends]

Woooh Hoo Green Day Rocks How do you Play the time of your life Song on Tabs cause i just got my guitar and i dont really get it ?
Sorry I'm slow.... but your lesson was gr8t, i just need more help can yoi explain it basicly?? like reaallllly Basic... Thanks and GREEN DAY ROCKS

[miller30times]

great lesson...i'm a beginner too been playing for 5 months now...i know how to read tabs and all..chords and stuff like that i have problems playing but i understand them..but there or also other beginners out there too...and all you so call people that say u can play this or that and all you do is run other people down ...well i just hope i never forget i'm a beginner even after i reach a year or 5 years or 10 years...and one more thing..you put a lesson on here and yet the only thing u make comments back to or the ones running green day down...u have beginners asking u ?'s respond to them and forget the dumbasses who think they know everything...ty and great lesson..hope to pick with u all one day

[dollym92]

That was really helpful. Thanks man!!

[KrloOS]

i want a lesson of all the legends
like:
/ Slide up
| \ Slide down
| h Hammer-on
| /( ) Play note and slide up
| \( ) Play note and slide down
| p Pull-off
| ~ Let Ring
| X Mute note
and how to do it

[Srose]

"In a power chord, your middle finger should never be used."

Uhm, says who? If you're more comfortable using your Index, Middle and Ring fingers to play a power chord, who is to argue?

Of course, you could argue if you want to move to E major/A minor bar chord positions that it's an easy transition with your middle finger ready. But I can do those transitions the way I play power chords.

Sorry, just thought that was a bit wrong ^^ Pretty decent lesson. Covered the basics well.

[ken20008]

on all the green day bashing that has been going on...
listen up:
punk bands use power chords a lot in their music, and the rhythm is simple. you like it if i give you some Between The Buried And Me or Dream Theater and teach you how to play quick lines in 6/4, 12/8, 15/8 or any other prog timing?

Power chords are for beginners. Punk is the best way to grasp them. without green day i would never have grasped power chords so quickly.

[ken20008]

miller30times wrote:

great lesson...i'm a beginner too been playing for 5 months now...i know how to read tabs and all..chords and stuff like that i have problems playing but i understand them..but there or also other beginners out there too...and all you so call people that say u can play this or that and all you do is run other people down ...well i just hope i never forget i'm a beginner even after i reach a year or 5 years or 10 years...and one more thing..you put a lesson on here and yet the only thing u make comments back to or the ones running green day down...u have beginners asking u ?'s respond to them and forget the dumbasses who think they know everything...ty and great lesson..hope to pick with u all one day

ok...i get the message...thks for telling me.

i dont check this lesson or my email very often, srry abt that.
i suck at music theory, nor a very good player, im still learning. Power chords are actually one of the easiest to teach on elec gtr. Thats why i can explain them.

As for the others, its bit hard. And UG takes a long time to accept lessons. Dont worry, im posting up more lessons soon when i have the time!

[bassmasta123]

hey plz visit my website on bass cheers
www.howtoplaybass.co.uk
I will be updating it all the time

[acousticbeatle]

dunno if its been said before
but goddammit, it SAYS ITS FOR BEGINNERS!
so quit saying that its "beginnerish"

[Spaded_Ace]

why is there so much green day?

[JimMRocks]

Funny how something like power chords are so simple yet so nessecary for song structure. Great explanation, thanks a lot!

[lupesala]

thanks alot great lesson

[ken20008]

thanks everyone

[cajun_prince]

good lesson!.. i think its funny how people "HERE" diss greenday. its only a lesson folks.. so dont get too serious.. the lesson is the one who gets the attention, not Greenday!

[cajun_prince]

oh if you want to know a little more on power chords.. try learning bass first.. well, thats on my experience..

[camjockk]

this helped alot. thanks

[Kevinleeowen]

Hi, any tips on strumming/playing (with a pick etc)? How can you avoid playing the 'open strings'? underneath, e.g. the G/B/E strings if playing with the root on the 6th?
Thanks!

[zack_tatoosh]

thanks mang dont let people drag you down its all about the playing

[BloodHitman]

This was awesome dude thanks alot. Cheers.

[karriokarrio]

real musicians can appreciate all different things. everyone whose ignorant isnt going anywhere in music so whatever. bro this is legit stuff.

[sf1102]

Er so basically it's a 3-note chord with a 3-3-1 am I correct ? Thx a lot

[muddshovel]

What about working class hero ? all power chords ?

[TulsaBear]

Reading these comments has made me realize people don't read.
"The reason why this lesson is for beginners is because power chords are the basics of electric guitar."
The first line explains what you are doing. This is a lesson for someone like me who has been playing all of a month and a half. I appreciate any help I can get from experienced players even if it's music I'm not fond of. It's amazing how ungrateful some people are when something is "FREE".
Here's a free $10 gas card.
(Complaining)But it's only $10 and I can only get 87 octane.
I say thanks for helping the peon noobs like myself and I look forward to learning more from this site every day.

[serjan]

this is the most useful lesson i have found but i wish i could learn theory... the theory lesson was confusing

[ken20008]

glad the whole green day thing is more or less over.
muddshovel: not really power chords, but major chords. Power chords are derived from major chords, just easier to play.

sf1102: its 133xxx (EADGBE).

Thanks to everyone again for your great comments on this, and metal rules.

[theguitardevil]

great lesso!!! 2 much greenday

[Blindrooster]

Well done. Does the band really matter yall? its whats being taught thats important, and Green day IS a good example of powerchords. good lesson.

[TremontiIsAGod]

NIIIIIRRRRRVAAAAANNNAAAAA

[learninclutch]

I agree to much Green Day. Probably thinks more kids will read it if they see Green Day tabs. Any punk band would be a great example by introducing them to something out of the ordinary like some of the lessons. Kings of the power chords like the Ramones or Bad Religion would have been more cutting edge,

[learninclutch]

Dude just an opinion, great lesson, thanks for taking the time to do it for us to learn from. Billie Jo is awesome guitarist.

[Jevans0409]

For a begginer like me who hasn't heard much other than mainstream music this is great. Yes I'm over greenday to, but it makes it easier to learn when you know roughly how the song should sound, I appreciate someone making an effort to do this for us begginers. If your to advanced for Greenday you probably don't need this lesson anyway, and if you don't like Greenday post a lesson, hell I'll read it, I want to learn.

[=-P]

Good Lesson This How I Learned Too!
And To All The Hate Comments.....WHERES THE LOVE PEOPLE?!?!?!?!

[kennygryt]

Thats going to help me !
But i have to sleep now, so l8r

[Ax7fan08]

the lesson was great. but i dont think my hand can take all the strechting will i ever get used to it. iv been playing for 7 months now.

[timlor]

great lesson.thanks a lot.

[Adzy G]

Thanks heaps. Gonna go show up my friends now lol.

[spaceace12342]

kckyle wrote:

ergh jeeze u ppl are all haters. wats wroung with greenday. holiday is a pretty good song. i dont see metallica or other rock bands thought of tat song before greenday. and at least nows day their songs are on the billboards. wheres chemical Romance. and A7X?. exactly

they didnt think of the song holiday because they dont suck as bad as green day.

[spaceace12342]

but this lesson is pretty decent for extreme beginners, and i mean, green day is pretty much alllll powerchords so they're a good example.

i mean, you could have used the ramones just as easy.

[spaceace12342]

could you imagine explaining modes and scales to these people?

lol

[Hokie1]

GeekInThePink wrote:

It sounds like you don't know a thing about music...

[Hokie1]

its a lesson jackass!

[Arctic_Taylor]

gr8 lesson for begginers. Who cares who it is, its meant to be an example, and obviously at the time, he was listening to a lot of green day:P

[JakoDog92]

Awsome, Ok i'm gonna listen to those songs and practice power chords. When I first heard power chords i was scared they were gonna be some complicated thing i wouldn't be able to do till later.

[laller]

hey guys!i learning guitar now,and i think this is a good way to start it,so thank you very much mate!!!to the others how just complaining about the bands:you were a beginners once right?so show respect to the others!thanks again!laller from hungary

[zamy85]

iuiuiupiupiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuiuuiuiuiuiuiuiu...
good lesson man...

[priestmaiden31]

It's a good guide, but now I know how to play Green Day songs and I don't want that. So I'm going to listen to some Kiss to get this dreadful music out my head!

[tom1thomas1]

lol greenday fan just like my music teacher. shame I'm not so much... but good lesson, I used to think power chords meant you only pressed down 2 strings, like in Iron Man or Smoke on the Water.

[ken20008]

i still like Green Day, doesnt matter if you hate it or not, and you cant argue with me because i also listen to black/death/technical metal that almost everyone on UG loves. I guess im one of the few people in the world with the ability to appreciate all forms of rock and metal music (minus emo and glam metal, i dont like them).

Its a lesson people, thanks to all who commented on it, but please shut the hell up about the Green Day thing. getting on my nerves, really.

[GuitarMagician0]

1st of all green day sucks but this was a great lesson it looks like it helped alot of people

[BaBaBoeGaH]

Great lesson!
But for most Green Days I tune my guitar up a half step, works ok to me

[kw112]

jmack9909 wrote:

yo, i just got my guitar yesterday and i don't understand what the numbers are on the chords
like this
F5
e|-----|
B|-----|
G|-----|
D|-3-----|
A|-3---- -|
E|-1-----|
whats the numbers mean ?
thanks

Go learn how to read tab. it takes about mabey 10 minutes at most to learn. then you'll understand

http://guitar.about.com/library/blhowtoreadtab .htm
I found thi site helpful when i started.

[kw112]

no one cares if you hate or love greenday/modern music. just becuase you bash on someones musical taste its not going to change his/her mind about what they like.
and everyone likes diffrent stuff.

[ken20008]

lol modern music also refers to metal too you know.

[xXxThE_cHaDxXx]

I wish I saw this a year ago when I was figuring this all out by looking at Megadeth Tabs... (Yes, my first tab I tried was Peace Sells by Megadeth...) Even though it went right over my head, a few hours of looking at it a finaly realized how stuff worked and I am still improving.

So what he used Green Day for examples? I don't listen to Green Day but if they use a majority of power chords why bash? If it were a lesson on tremolo/machine-gun picking the E string for metal songs you would put in like Whiplash by Metallica or, Peace Sells by Megadeth. You wouldn't want a bunch of *******s bitching about how Metallica's mainstream or start another flame war...

[dastrou]

Great lesson! Thanks!

[gamersg]

Lol it's pretty funny how you guys all hate the lesson suddenly cause it's Green Day, if Green Day use power chords then Green Day are a good example of power chords. Three words: get over it. Not everyone has to like your music. And in the real world: yes, other bands exist. Like Green Day. Sorry to shatter your illusions great lesson.

[Reedy180]

i think a better band for explaining power chords would be AC/DC. i learnt power chords from them just by listening and looking at tabs

[diego-sebastian]

whats the difference between a major and power chord

[LittleSam14]

people make fun of green day all the time, i like em, i accept some people dont

but whats the point of coming here just to diss em?
its a lesson, green day are ALL power chords

get a life, stop making fun of things that dont have any relevence

[19rovert93]

Great lesson--- especially for beginners another great idea would be to put the power chord progressions . If you dont have em ill give em to you.

[gbubguitar107]

-fez- wrote:

good but its a bit sad that green day only know how to play power chords and their guitarist sucks so much he cant play anything else

I randomly came across this lesson, and saw this... Well, their guitarist, or atleast rhythm guitarist is their lead singer as well. I want you to go find some complicated riff and then try to sing and work an audience while playing that riff... also, listen to The Judge's Daughter by Green Day... Listen, then tell me they can only play power chords, lol.