Power Chords (part 2)

Power chords can also be played with the first finger and root note on string 5. This way of playing power chords have all the same principals, but it is important and difficult to stop the thickest string ringing out, shown by an X on string six in the diagram below.

We mute string 6 with the tip of the first finger. Many people do struggle with this at first but get used to it over time. Rock songs commonly go be- tween root 6 and root 5 power chords, which can make things more tricky. We’ll look at techniques that can help these tough transitions.

Remember, with power chords, you can play two or three strings without changing the sound much. This is because the extra note added is the octave of the lowest note, so you're just doubling up the same note but at a higher pitch. Either 2 or 3 string power chords are generally interchangeable and are the players choice.