Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

[Pierre]

I really dislike power 5th, non open chords with the octave. To me it thins out the sound and takes the emphasis away from the 5th.

Of course when I was beginning I had no one to show me otherwise so I just never played the octave and just used two fingers. It stuck with me, and then I tried adding it and didn't like it.

Anyone else?

 

[Truant]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I get them that way sometimes, but not intentionally.

I barre the 4th and 5th strings with my hyper-flexive (double jointed) ring finger. Sometimes I unintentionally mute the octave on the 4th string and sometimes I don't.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I leave the octave out, unless I'm strumming (which is... never, with powerchords), or I'm moving the 5th around while keeping the octave the same.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I really dislike power 5th, non open chords with the octave. To me it thins out the sound and takes the emphasis away from the 5th.

Of course when I was beginning I had no one to show me otherwise so I just never played the octave and just used two fingers. It stuck with me, and then I tried adding it and didn't like it.

Anyone else?

I don't care for them generally- however sometimes they are neccessary (that is if you are playing a certain song that uses them).

I've noticed over the years that Adrian Smith will often play a power chord with the octave and use the octave as an accent (often with a vocal)- compared to Dave's straight 2 finger power chords sans octave-

The 5th position D power chord on Number of the Beast is a perfect example-
The octave is an accent with Bruce's vocal- "And sacred chants were PRAISED" (accent on praised)- He also plays it in an open D form accomplishing the same thing with the high E as the accent.

EDIT- On my soundclick page you can hear me playing NOTB against the LAD version and its much clearer what I'm talking about.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I use all different kinds of barre chords and power chords. Most of which I have found through experimentation and mistakes over the years. Some have octaves and others do not.

 

[mrturtle_91]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I always used the octave, tried without, sounds too thin. Much prefer the sound with the octave.

 

[bigheadood]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

For pure power chords, I use the pinky on the 5th, no octave.
Unless I'm in drop tuning, then I use a big 5 string bar chord.

 

[Jay 77]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

Using the low 5th is nice too....sounds huge.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I'm all over the place with how I use the octave on power chords. Sometimes the octave only muddies up the chord, or I prefer the simplicity of the root and the 5th. Other times I let it ring out. Sometimes the ring bends back and barres the 5th and the octave, sometimes the pinky frets the octave, sometimes the picky frets the 5th. Quite simply, the answer is "it depends."

Using the low 5th is nice too....sounds huge.

I do that sometimes, too. Very heavy sound.

 

[A Skater]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

There's some songs I play without the octave, and those are covers of other songs. I throw in the octave on anything that is not rapidly picked and switched with another chord.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I rarely play with the octave for power chords but I'll invert a power chord, which is nothing more than a 4th, and play it with two octaves for the root and 4th on occasion.

 

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

Depends what sound I'm looking for and what I need to play. 90 per cent of the time I'll play the octave note, other times I won't, particularly if I need really fast shifting power chords across the neck I sometimes leave out the octave, although since I've gotten better I only really use that for more extreme shifting around the neck playing with powerchords now. Some I'll just leave out the 5th altogether, and play just the root note and octave, which can sound really nice and melodic for some metal applications.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

Using the low 5th is nice too....sounds huge.

I like using that chord alot, as well as this one


2
3
3

its a chord with the 5th in bass and the third in there too.

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

Like everything related to theory and playing, it always depends. Its a different flavour with different uses.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

It's got its place . . . I like to play around with mini chords based on power chords. Root - 5th - maj7, root - 5th - 7th, root - 5th - sixth, etc. It can be a cool way to add more complex chords to really fast progressions, or to add a little variety to boring chord progressions.

 

[NoOnesFang13]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I like using that chord alot, as well as this one


2
3
3

its a chord with the 5th in bass and the third in there too.

C/G lol or if u are playing clean
0
1
0
2
3
3

that how i always play C it makes it sound so much fuller with the bass G.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I love how a dropped six string can make a three string powerchord available with a single finger. The intonations just seem to line up, and sound huge.

I don't make them a sole habit.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I guess I get the best of both worlds. I almost always fret the octave but hit the strings with a short wrist snap that gets softer at the end, so the octave is there but not prominent. It also gives the chord a real punchy gnarly rock 'n roll sound. The picking, I mean.

 

[Forbes]

Re: Anybody plays power chords without the octave?

I do when i play live cause i'm just lazy really.