Power Chord Questions

Recently I've been learning power chords and I just have a quick question. Are they all in the 5th or 6th string position? Or can you move the formation anywhere on the fretboard?

Im not a theorist in music, but as i understand you can make a power chord by using the root not (say G) and the relative 5th (which would be D) Possibly you can add the 4th, instead. I'm out of my depth here really :)

To get the relative notes you'd count the root as 1 which is
G (say) and would go like this.

G=1
A=2
B=3
C=4
D=5
E=6
F=7

You could use this in any key; ie if A=1 then E=5. This is another one of my halfc_ocked theoeries, so take it with a pinch of salt (seems to work for me) .

..anyone else.. please..

You got it James, Leedog, the term power chord is really just one of those made up guitar player terms to make us all sound cool, really they are Diads(2notes)normally played on the 6th&5th or the 5th&4th strings, to give a bigger sound, you can double one of the notes like playing the 6th string 5th fret/5th string 7th fret, add the 4th string 7th fret and you have added another A note one octave higher, just makes a bigger sound, thats the basic purpose of the power chord anyhow, a big sound with no 3rd to give it a major or minor tonality, this way one chord shape fits in both keys, does that help you or even make sense?

I'll try to explain a little something

Pstring talked about the normal powerchords used by most metal bands.

Now I like to add a more dark sound to my powerchords sometimes. If you ever listened to Death metal you know those "powerchords".

Instead of doing (on the 4-5-6th string)

---7
---7
---5

Try

---7
---5
---5

This gives a much darker sound. It probably has a real scientific name or something but I don't know it.

i use both and i have to agree - sometimes you can scare the devil himself with those chords.
-Daniel

To get the relative notes you'd count the root as 1 which is
G (say) and would go like this.

G=1
A=2
B=3
C=4
D=5
E=6
F=7




What about sharps and what-not?

I don't know,but i guess that as you are only using 2 or 3 notes it may not matter??,... (err help!)

Originally posted by Leedogg
What about sharps and what-not?

THose are called accidentals. You need to know that there are 12 notes
c
c# (also called Db depending on the context)
d
d# (or Eb same explanation)
e
f
f# (gb)
g
g# (ab)
a
a# (Bb)
b
and back to c

Those are the twelves tones that are used in western music. There are lots of other ones, used in oriental music for example, but we don't use them, and our ears ared used to hearing them.

Playing a C major scale, you need to take 7 of those tones
C D E F G A B
there are intervals between all of those notes, right? For example, between C and D, there's a whole step, while from E to F, there's only a half step (no # or b between them).
If you want to play the G major scale, you need to play from the G, but you have to take the SAME intervals. If you count, you get
G A B C D E F#
That last note has to be a #, otherwise it wouldn't be a major scale (it would be a mode, the myxolidian, to be precise). Well, depending on the key, you get some # or some b... Just try to learn them slow, they might be somewhere on this site...

Just thought it was a strange coincidence, Benoit's 2nd example is ADA, Frisky post's that you can scare the devil with those chords, the D is the 4th to the A, I can't remember if it was the 4th, or the raised 4th that was once called the "diablo en musica" and was supposed to be avoided because it would invoke the devil, just a side note of trivia, btw sometimes I just play the Root&3rd

Then call me Satan, turn on the heat and paint me red cause I like these chords :)

me toooooo
i like that thumping sound i get when i mute the low 3 on the first fret too
maybe i should have played bass
-Daniel

"SI contra FA es Diavolos en musica!" - The Tritonus!

Originally (refering to the Hexachordum) "the wrong quinte"

It is the tone (or better - the interval) that divides the octave in exactly two halves -> 6:6 halftones OR 3:3 full tones (TRI=3 TONUS=tone/note). It was the Devil in music because it was quite difficult to explain the interval and also because of its dark sound AND - it does not exist in the overtone row.

Letz have a look at the proporions-theory of pythagoras. It is IMO one simple way of sorting the intervals from a tonal point of view.

Prim (unison) -> 1:1 (lat. primus="the first")
Octave -> 1:2
Quinte (fifth) -> 2:3
Quarte (fourth) -> 3:4
Majorem Sexte (major sixth) -> 3:5
Majorem Terz (Major third) -> 4:5
Minorem Terz (minor third) -> 5:6
Minorem Sexte (minor Sixth -> 5:8
Minorem Septime (minor seventh) -> 5:9
Majorem Sekunde (major second) -> 8:9
Majorem Septime (major seventh) -> 8:15
Minorem Sekunde (minor second) -> 15:16
Tritonus -> 32:45

As you can see the tritonus is a bit.. strange and this proportion does (unlike the others) not exist in the overtonerow.

-=[Azrael]=-