GuitarCram
  • Lesson #1 - Intro
  • Lesson #2 - Pentatonic Scale
  • Lesson #3 - Blues Scale
  • Lesson #4 - Minor Scale
  • Lesson #5 - Key Signature
  • Lesson #6 - Major Scale
  • Conclusion
  • Personal Coaching
  • Products
  • Contact

Power Chords

Hello and welcome back!

How did the last lesson go?  If you need any clarification on the material within these exercises you can schedule a free one on one lesson over Skype.  Reach out to matt@guitarcram.com.

If you were able to understand the previous lesson, then you now understand how to play notes on multiple strings.  We are now going to build on this.

Lets take a look at the below tab.  
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For this exercise we will need to start paying attention to which finger is used on which fret.  Lets break this tab down into two parts.  First take a look at the two photos below to demonstrate how to play the first half.
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Lets sum up the first half of this tab:  Keep the low E string open (meaning you are not holding down any frets on that string) and use your index finger to press down the 2nd fret on the A string.  Here you will pluck the low E string open, pluck the A string on the 2nd fret, then hit the low E string open again- just like in the above tab.  

The next sequence is the same thing, except we are now moving up to the A string:  play the A string open, then use your index finger to hold down the 2nd fret on the D string, and then hit the A string open again.

Once you have this down lets focus on the second half of the tab.  Below are two photos showing this.  This will be the same sequence as the first half, except now there will be no strings left open, we will hold down frets for each note.

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What we are playing here are called broken chords.  A chord is two or more notes played at the same time, a broken chord is where you play the same notes as you would play within the chord, but instead of playing them all at once you play each note individually.  

Once you have this down, lets play the same thing (keep your fingers in the same position) but instead we will play them as chords, more specifically these are called power chords.  What we will be doing is the playing the same notes as before, but we will now be playing them at the same exact time, as listed in the tab below. 

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Once you get this down, you can officially play power chords.  These are the simplest and most common types of chords and are used in just about every genre of music.  You will even find that you can play some of your favorite songs.  At this point I encourage you to google different guitar tabs of your favorite songs.  I bet if you try to learn some of them you'll find a majority of them will contain multiple power chords.

Once you have the above exercise down, try adding just one more note to each chord.  You can keep the same finger position as before, but push down one more fret on the string below it- as in the following tab.
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For example in the first chord you use your ring/pinky fingers to hold down the 2nd fret on the A string.  Now you will use those same fingers to hold down the 2nd fret on the D string at the same time.  The second chord you used your ring/pinky finger to hold down the 2nd fret on the D string, you now will add the 2nd fret on the G string to this, and etc. 

Ok there's a lot for you to practice.  Keep working at this until it feels comfortable.  You're progressing very fast if you can play these exercises. 
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Click the link below for Lesson 4.
Lesson 4

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Copyright © 2016
  • Lesson #1 - Intro
  • Lesson #2 - Pentatonic Scale
  • Lesson #3 - Blues Scale
  • Lesson #4 - Minor Scale
  • Lesson #5 - Key Signature
  • Lesson #6 - Major Scale
  • Conclusion
  • Personal Coaching
  • Products
  • Contact