how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

[Jeff5]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index and pinkie for most hard rock heavy metal power chordy stuff. I know its technically wrong...hehe but that's who I learned to originally play. I can do and can play with my ring though occasionally.

Thing is I only use the pinky like this for power chords. With scales, or bar chords, rock/blues chord thingys (where you play root 5th, then extend the pinky another step) etc., I always use index and ring. Weird I know!

 

[strat_master]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

my power chords are nomrlaly three ntoes i use my index, ring and pinky.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

F9

If you count the bass note as the root ... F5 add 9, or Fsus 2 ... remember there is no 3rd in the chord. The actual voicing of the intervals can change around. It could also be G-C-F, or C-F-G, or even F-G-C, as one of it's inversions, depending on what the bass player is doing. Thats something I use heavily also, that's part of that message in a bottle thing, Eric Johson likes it in arpeggio form also. Hendrix and Vai have used it, a cool little chord clean or dirty. Just thought I'd clarify.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

big hands, eh? Try this on for size.... MUAAA HAA AHAAAAAA:

E|----|
B|----|
G|-11-|
D|-9--|
A|-7--|
E|-5--|

A fifth of a fifth of a fifth of a root.
Ok, now that's just nonsense...

I don't use that as much, but when I do I finger it middle, ring, index, pinky
(E,A,G,B strings), or index, ring, index, pinky (A,D,B,E strings index as a partial barre).

 

[some_dude]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index and ring.

 

[NoMoreMKIV]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

i barre with my pinkie and then get the fiifth with the thumb of the other hand.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index, ring, and pinky. I do this because it feels more stable to me and the notes tend to come out clearer. Plus I can add a vibrato to the 5th and the octave if I wanna.

Ditto.

Well, I use ring and pinky for chord shapes like below:

X
X
5 (pinky)
5 (ring)
3 (index)
X

I use all sorts of crazy and inverted stuff in which I switch. I have big hands as well, so playing that crazy chord posted before wasn't a problem :laugh2:

 

[FenderBoy]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index and Pinky usually. But i also play with Index and ring. Sometimes I do middle and Pinky when the root is on the A string (5 th string) and Index and Ring for root on Low E string (6th string) . This makes switching between chords very fast.

I try to play chords in many different ways so that no one way gets rusty. Also if there is another guitarist, I will often times try to play some arrpegio inverted chords to give the sound a different timbre than just a droning power chord. This can sound really good with a glassy strat-liek tone.

 

[Marcel]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

i change between the fingers all the time...
with index and pinky the octaves are nearly dead
with index and ring all three notes rings. Some times if i wanted to emphasize the octave note i use ring for the 5 and pinky for the 8 and hit more against the last strings with the right hand...

 

[crowscrown]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index and ring. Then, I tap that pinky two frets down and go old school once in a while.

 

[yes-fan]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

it's something us yung doodz yuuz theez dayz 2 get a RokiN sownd since we cant plai a bar kord and we all plai PuNk an MeTaL!!!!1!!1!!!1!111!!!1!!!1! it Roxorz my SoXoRz!1!!1!!!!1111!!!1!1!111!!

amen uber litzor adfectus!
(you said it correctly very elite friend)
kids in my school talk like that believe it or not. :22:

 

[yes-fan]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

big hands, eh? Try this on for size.... MUAAA HAA AHAAAAAA:

E|----|
B|----|
G|-11-|
D|-9--|
A|-7--|
E|-5--|

A fifth of a fifth of a fifth of a root.
Ok, now that's just nonsense...

i guess i have big hands because that was kinda easy. it sounds nice too :laugh2:

 

[Guitarist]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Both. I slide around. Try not to think about it so much, just try to go with the flow.

 

[gordon_39422]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

I've been working very hard on the CAGED system of incorporating chords and lead. I find that now when playing power chords, I switch the fingerings to allow me to walk around the scales of the particual key in which I happen to be playing. At one point in time, I always played index and ring, though.

However, we just had the discussion of power "Chords" in my music theory class. Turns out, they're not really chords at all, but widely used and referred to as such!! You certainly can't find the mood if someone struck a power chord. With true chords, major, minor, dominant, etc, you can feel the emotions instantly. Major = Happy, Active, etc. Minor = Sad, depressed, troubled, etc. They are good for filling in gaps within a song, though!!

 

[Kent S.]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

I've been working very hard on the CAGED system of incorporating chords and lead. I find that now when playing power chords, I switch the fingerings to allow me to walk around the scales of the particual key in which I happen to be playing. At one point in time, I always played index and ring, though.

However, we just had the discussion of power "Chords" in my music theory class. Turns out, they're not really chords at all, but widely used and referred to as such!! You certainly can't find the mood if someone struck a power chord. With true chords, major, minor, dominant, etc, you can feel the emotions instantly. Major = Happy, Active, etc. Minor = Sad, depressed, troubled, etc. They are good for filling in gaps within a song, though!!

Technically speaking power chords are in the beginnings of music, they where referred to under the name of *organ point* which was a root-perfect fifth interval that was used as a pedal tone. It was amoung the beginnings of harmony when harmony was first being explored in a deliberate context ... Ask your instructor about organ point, also referred to as organ tone. Found under the class of pedal tones, and ostinato basso.
If he or she doesn't know what you are talking about ... slap 'em upside their head, and go by a good music theory book from a college bookstore, used bookstore,or check on out from the library. The beauty of a power chords, perfect fifth chords, or *5* chords ... (written as A5, that way you aren't trying to imply the dominant chord of the key {E in the case of A}), or no third chords,(written as A no 3rd, which is A3 with a slash thru the 3) is that they allow the freedom of major or minor quality, either quality to be expressed while providing a supporting harmony to each. Much like natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor are often taught as three different keys of minor, while in practice composers frequently jumped between all three forms while in a minor piece, without *switching to another minor key*. So in a classical perspective this to makes perfect sense to me, giving the freedom to morph between the two qualities.
Bear in mind that you are also studying tertian harmony ... there is also quartal, and quintal harmony as well.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Hehe you started to sound like my old teacher

 

[Aceman]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Play it any way you want/can - but play it with 'tude!

 

[danglybanger]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

index on the root
middle finger on the 5th
ring finger on the octave

I have big hands.

 

[Akrin]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Advantage of doublejointedness: :bigthumb:

I play the root with my index finger, and bar the 5th and octave with my pinky (which bends backwards in what looks like a very uncomfortable way ). When I started playing I just naturally played them like that, and it's still the easiest and most comfortable for me.

 

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: how do you play root 5th (power) chords?

Index and pinky most of the time. Comfortable... and lazy .

No octave need apply. Haven't the need-- sounds limp-wristed.