Power Chords

Barre chords facilitate access to the 12 keys, but the fingering is complex, particularly for those still working towards the full barre. Power chords offer an introductory route to the 12 keys as their construction is much simpler and a barre is not required. Also known as 5 chords, power chords consist only of the root and the fifth of the chord, often with an additional octave. Power chords can used in place of both major and minor chords because they do not have a third.

These chords have a rich history. They were used as an open drone in medieval music and are still widely used in a range of popular music styles including rock and blues. In some forms of rock music, they use a technique called crunching, where the strings are subtly muted at the bridge while being strummed. Crunching is discussed in greater detail later in this chapter in the muting section of the Expression Hand. Figure 1 shows the fingering for a common chord progression, I IV V chords in the key of G.

While power chords are less complex than other chords, they were challenging for some participants, particularly those who had not yet grasped the concept of navigating the fretboard. A simplified fingering that omitted the upper octave was suggested, replacing the fourth finger in the chord shape diagrams in Figure 1 with an X. This approach helped embed the concept of mobile chord shapes, unlocking chordal harmony in all keys on the guitar.