Power Chords

Back in high school. If I remember correctly it was late in my junior year and a good portion of my senior year, one of my friends wanted to start a band. He started to learn bass and I picked up a guitar and small amp and started to take lessons. The band was going to be a Hm band and he suggested that I learn the 11 power chords. At least that's how many I think they are. The two songs I centered on where 'living after midnight' jp and ' rockin like a hurricane' scorp. Anyway this was many years before I was saved. I found out in a short period of timd that guitar playing wasn't my thing. I do still recognize power chords thou and see them used a lot .

Me too. I got a guitar when I was 12 and I never progressed past Rock You Like A Hurricane or Smoke On The Water. And if someone gave me a guitar to play today I could wow everyone at work by playing those two tunes until they figured out it's the only two songs I could ever play. Oh and Iron Man. Guitar just wasn't my thing I guess, i took lessons too and never got it. Ever. 

In 6th-8th grade I played saxophone and I was quite good at it, I wished I would have stuck with it in high school. But at the risk of being labeled a "geek" I gave it up for some reason. Stupid, I know. I used to be able to read music and could "sight read" meaning you could give me a piece of music and I could play it without ever having heard it or having seen it before. I might be able to play sax again if given the chance however I gave it up THIRTY years ago so it might not come back to me so fast. I know reading music is something I lost.  Who knows  maybe some day, sometimes I think "If I still played sax I could get up and play something in church once in a while".

It's never too late to pick up and start again.  I bet you'd be amazed at what comes back quickly.

BTW - I consider myself the Power Chord King (not the best mind you) as I only know about 6 or 7 full chords.

I have never been good enough to be a lead guitarist, so I have always played rhythm and sang (background or lead).  One of the first songs I ever learned was "Living After Midnight"

Staybrite wrote:

I have never been good enough to be a lead guitarist, so I have always played rhythm and sang (background or lead).  One of the first songs I ever learned was "Living After Midnight"

I always play lead guitar and sing lead. Of course, I also play rhythm guitar and drums. I do it all, but that's because there's only room for one in the shower!

Staybrite wrote:

I have never been good enough to be a lead guitarist, so I have always played rhythm and sang (background or lead).  One of the first songs I ever learned was "Living After Midnight"

Did you take the city 'bout 1am?

No, he was rockin' til the dawn!

Ah! Thanks for the clarification.

Xid wrote:

Staybrite wrote:

I have never been good enough to be a lead guitarist, so I have always played rhythm and sang (background or lead).  One of the first songs I ever learned was "Living After Midnight"

Did you take the city 'bout 1am?

Kerrick wrote:

No, he was rockin' til the dawn!

I see what you both did there.  Now stop it or else I'll set my sights and then home in on ya.

You won't break me
You won't make me
You won't take me
Under blood red skies!!!

There are other chords, besides power chords?

As a Junior in College I took a class in Guitar Instruction.  The professor gave me a B, and we'll just say that he was being generous (very, very generous).  The problem is that my fingers are too short to play guitar.  As a matter of fact, it would probably be more accurate to say that I do not so much as have fingers but rather stubs...

Dynamis wrote:

As a Junior in College I took a class in Guitar Instruction.  The professor gave me a B, and we'll just say that he was being generous (very, very generous).  The problem is that my fingers are too short to play guitar.  As a matter of fact, it would probably be more accurate to say that I do not so much as have fingers but rather stubs...

I've witnessed some awesome shredding done on stubs.

deathisgain wrote:

There are other chords, besides power chords?

None that are worth playing...unless maybe you are into jazz.

Xid wrote:

Dynamis wrote:

As a Junior in College I took a class in Guitar Instruction.  The professor gave me a B, and we'll just say that he was being generous (very, very generous).  The problem is that my fingers are too short to play guitar.  As a matter of fact, it would probably be more accurate to say that I do not so much as have fingers but rather stubs...

I've witnessed some awesome shredding done on stubs.

Rick Renstrom. That is all.

Staybrite wrote:

deathisgain wrote:

There are other chords, besides power chords?

None that are worth playing...unless maybe you are into jazz.

No way. Not true. I play rhythm/acoustic at church and I know lots of chords. Some just sound better than others.

I've never heard that there was a certain number of power chords.  They are just two note chords that takes the root note and adds a 5th to it.  For example, if you played a G, you would also play a D note.  This would give you a power chord that is neither major or minor.  Anywhere you note the first note, you can add the 5th whether you are playing on the low end of the neck or high.

Power chords have always been easy.  Learning real chords for use on acoustics was much harder, but I managed to do so without a teacher. 

Learning new chords for my 3 and 4 string guitars is even more fun.  The 3 string is tuned to an open chord (power chord).  If you want, though, you can fiddle around until you find a 3 note chord that uses most of the main notes from whatever chord you are trying to play.

alldatndensum wrote:

I've never heard that there was a certain number of power chords.  They are just two note chords that takes the root note and adds a 5th to it.  For example, if you played a G, you would also play a D note.  This would give you a power chord that is neither major or minor.  Anywhere you note the first note, you can add the 5th whether you are playing on the low end of the neck or high.

Power chords have always been easy.  Learning real chords for use on acoustics was much harder, but I managed to do so without a teacher. 

Learning new chords for my 3 and 4 string guitars is even more fun.  The 3 string is tuned to an open chord (power chord).  If you want, though, you can fiddle around until you find a 3 note chord that uses most of the main notes from whatever chord you are trying to play.

I guess there would be 11 power chords since there are 11 intervals, the octave being the 12th. This is all you need. Jazz is just when you screw up one of these, and want to make it sound artsy.

ishmael81 wrote:

Rick Renstrom. That is all.

Rick is amazing!

deathisgain wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

I've never heard that there was a certain number of power chords.  They are just two note chords that takes the root note and adds a 5th to it.  For example, if you played a G, you would also play a D note.  This would give you a power chord that is neither major or minor.  Anywhere you note the first note, you can add the 5th whether you are playing on the low end of the neck or high.

Power chords have always been easy.  Learning real chords for use on acoustics was much harder, but I managed to do so without a teacher. 

Learning new chords for my 3 and 4 string guitars is even more fun.  The 3 string is tuned to an open chord (power chord).  If you want, though, you can fiddle around until you find a 3 note chord that uses most of the main notes from whatever chord you are trying to play.

I guess there would be 11 power chords since there are 11 intervals, the octave being the 12th. This is all you need. Jazz is just when you screw up one of these, and want to make it sound artsy.

Thank you, Mr. Music Theory!    

I need more than just power chords.  You can't do blues properly without playing 7ths.  Sure, you can do a metalized blues version, but those little bluesy chords sound real nice.  Ask Stevie Ray when you get to Heaven.  Life is more than power chords.

When my guitar teacher taught me how to play power chords I was very enthusiast.
I still like to play them.

That's what I've learned too, playing "Smoke On The Water".

I learned a lot of Scorpions stuff, the whole Twisted Sister catalog, "Smoke On The Water", then some Ozzy, and then I got into Christian bands and learned a lot of Bride, some Whitecross and King James, etc.  Power chords are everywhere!

alldatndensum wrote:

Life is more than power chords.

Rock cannot live on power chords alone.

deathisgain wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

I've never heard that there was a certain number of power chords.  They are just two note chords that takes the root note and adds a 5th to it.  For example, if you played a G, you would also play a D note.  This would give you a power chord that is neither major or minor.  Anywhere you note the first note, you can add the 5th whether you are playing on the low end of the neck or high.

Power chords have always been easy.  Learning real chords for use on acoustics was much harder, but I managed to do so without a teacher. 

Learning new chords for my 3 and 4 string guitars is even more fun.  The 3 string is tuned to an open chord (power chord).  If you want, though, you can fiddle around until you find a 3 note chord that uses most of the main notes from whatever chord you are trying to play.

I guess there would be 11 power chords since there are 11 intervals, the octave being the 12th. This is all you need. Jazz is just when you screw up one of these, and want to make it sound artsy.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about jazz guitar.