Lesson 21: Power chords

Week 21 of 27

Goal: You play E5, A5 and D5 with two fingers and rock out to the blues.

Review

Last week: the 12-bar blues. Play the pattern once with E, A and B7.

Step by step

  1. A power chord has just the root and the fifth – neither major nor minor. It sounds powerful, especially on electric guitar. More in Power chords.
  2. E5: low E string open, index and middle fingers at the 2nd fret on the A and D strings. Strum only these three strings.
  3. A5 is the same shape one string over: A string open, D and G strings at the 2nd fret. D5: D string open, G string 2nd fret, B string 3rd fret.
  4. Mute the other strings: rest the edge of your strumming hand lightly on the strings near the bridge – instantly rock. All shapes at a glance: Power chords.
E512A512D512

Time to make music: your piece

Blues in E with the band – instead of single roots, play E5 and A5, short and muted in eighths. On B, keep the single note on the A string at the 2nd fret.

Power chords

Play the blues Level 1 · Root note, key E

Homework for next time

Five days, about ten minutes each:

  • Tune first every day.
  • Days 1–2: E5, A5, D5 – only three strings, the rest muted.
  • Day 3: E5 – A5 – E5 – D5 in eighths with the metronome.
  • Days 4–5: blues in E with power chords.
  • Fun: invent your own rock riff from E5, A5 and D5!

Done when …

  • only the three strings of the power chord ring
  • you switch E5 and A5 in time in the blues

If you get stuck

  • Too many strings ringing? Strum shorter and keep the edge of your hand closer to the bridge.
  • Too muffled? Rest the edge of your hand only very lightly – the strings should still sound, just shorter.
For teachers: lesson plan
  1. ≈ 10 min Warm-up: compare E and E5 – the group hears that E5 sounds neither happy nor sad, but “strong”.
  2. ≈ 15 min Practice: muted eighths on E5 together, with the teacher setting the tempo on the metronome.
  3. ≈ 20 min Together: blues in E – half the group plays power chords, the other half the boogie riff from lesson 20.

Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.

For the board: openstring.de/gitarre/en/lesson/21/

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