Power Chords Chart

[gjtaylor]

Hello guys, I feel this is definitely useful for all beginners of electric guitar. Hope it's very useful for you guys.

Chart cut from: The Complete Rancid Guitar Tab Compilation - Power Chord Chart

 

[Godspeed64]

I don't think beginners should memorise the chords in this manner..
Easiest way is to understand the notes on the fretboard..

Assuming your guitar is tuned to EADGBe..
You need to know what each fret on the fretboard represents..

Do take note that it goes this way:
A BC D EF G
Taking the A string, the 0th fret is an A, the 1st fret is an A#/Bb, 2nd fret is a B, 3rd fret a C, etc.. The spaces between each note is a sharp of the previous note, or flat of the next note, with B# being C and E# being a F flat in reality..

And power chords have a simple shape (eg. an F is E1, A3, D3)..
So an F5 note would have you make this simple shape, starting from an F on the fretboard.. And notice something cooler? An E1 is an F, and a D3 is also an F!

With this, you can truly understand every note on the fretboard; a detrimental process on your road to soloing.. Remember, chugga chugga ain't the only way to go, at least try to understand what you're playing before you can shred like Malmsteen..

 

[gjtaylor]

this is not meant for memorizing bro.
i feel some people learn some songs through tabs and dont know what are the power chords used called.
this can help them a little.
at the very least it helps me.
what u said is right, but my intention is not encouraging people to memorize them.

 

[Godspeed64]

I understand.. But others might not..
So my lesson and his lesson would take beginners a loooong way.. :mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[jeremyspk]

Hello guys, I feel this is definitely useful for all beginners of electric guitar. Hope it's very useful for you guys.

Chart cut from: The Complete Rancid Guitar Tab Compilation - Power Chord Chart

Thanks for being helpful~
But i guess it'll be better if beginners understand the half-step & whole-step thing about the notes on the fretboard. Like that, they can learn more and understand better what are powerchords.

If i'm not wrong, powerchords are just heavily-bassed chord-fifth (A5, C5, etc)
It's good coz it sounds cleaner during heavy distortion.

 

[sugarbird]

I don't think beginners should memorise the chords in this manner..
Easiest way is to understand the notes on the fretboard..

Assuming your guitar is tuned to EADGBe..
You need to know what each fret on the fretboard represents..

Do take note that it goes this way:
A BC D EF G
Taking the A string, the 0th fret is an A, the 1st fret is an A#/Bb, 2nd fret is a B, 3rd fret a C, etc.. The spaces between each note is a sharp of the previous note, or flat of the next note, with B# being C and E# being a F flat in reality..

And power chords have a simple shape (eg. an F is E1, A3, D3)..
So an F5 note would have you make this simple shape, starting from an F on the fretboard.. And notice something cooler? An E1 is an F, and a D3 is also an F!

With this, you can truly understand every note on the fretboard; a detrimental process on your road to soloing.. Remember, chugga chugga ain't the only way to go, at least try to understand what you're playing before you can shred like Malmsteen..

dun undertsand =.=

 

[theunknown]

haha neither do i. i pick up the guitar and chugga chugga all the way!! i know nuts about the theory thingys. hoho.

 

[Godspeed64]

I don't think I understood what I wrote either..

Lol.. Easier to show and explain in front of you than on forums..

 

[Dime]

that chart doesnt work for me.

lets say C,i know 3 C's:
b|1----------|
g|0--5-------|
d|2--5--2---|
a|3--3--3---|
e|------------|

where did i learn this?from nowhere.purely self-taught and the chart isnt much of a help if you'd ask a self-taught guitar.not just me but majority would agree.

good idea though to show us some of the people's work.shows that there arent really selfless people out there.

 

[Godspeed64]

You can expand it bro.. There are 5 ways to play a C, finding each shape through using the C-A-G-E-D formation..
C in the "C-Shape" (the first chord you mention)
C in the "A-Shape" (5 strings barred chord)
C in the "G-Shape" (a total b*tch to play)
C in the "E-Shape" (6 strings barred chord)
C in the "D-Shape" (usually one octave higher already)

I'll post the notes when I get home at night, to share with you the 5 ways for playing Cs.. Just a general C major, no fanciful stuff added..

 

[kdash]

tabs are useful when you want to transmit your idea to others without showing it face to face, and when you want to learn something but cannot catch from videos etc. but if you have a good ear, you can make out the chords just by listening to the song, even which C chord it is.

 

[jeremyspk]

tabs are useful when you want to transmit your idea to others without showing it face to face, and when you want to learn something but cannot catch from videos etc. but if you have a good ear, you can make out the chords just by listening to the song, even which C chord it is.

yeah...tab's cool. me currently using them for scales studying and prac...

as for listening... either u're naturally gifted (perfect pitch) or seasoned musicians... most of the time it begins with written materials..

 

[Godspeed64]

You can expand it bro.. There are 5 ways to play a C, finding each shape through using the C-A-G-E-D formation..
C in the "C-Shape" (the first chord you mention)
C in the "A-Shape" (5 strings barred chord)
C in the "G-Shape" (a total b*tch to play)
C in the "E-Shape" (6 strings barred chord)
C in the "D-Shape" (usually one octave higher already)

I'll post the notes when I get home at night, to share with you the 5 ways for playing Cs.. Just a general C major, no fanciful stuff added..

These are the 5 C Major's as promised (the letters on top meaning the shape it originated from):
==C==A=G==E==D==
e|-0---3---8---8---12-|
B|-1---5---5---8---13-|
G|-0---5---5---9---12-|
D|-2---5---5--10---10 |
A|-3---3---7--10----X-|
E|-X---X---8---8---- X-|

 

[burping_boy]

Those are inversions of the same chord. And i totally understand how godspeed64 "derived" his guitar fingerings as mentioned in his first post. My guess is godspeed64 noes basic music theory, or at least how a keyboard looks like, to know the gaps between each notes.
Like there's no black key between E and F, so fretwise E and F are just adjacent to each other. This is same for B and C, with no black key in between.
But for say C and D, there is a black key in between which is a C#/Db, so fretwise there is a fret gap in between C and D.
By knowing which frets correspond to which notes, we can then proceed on to learn which notes form which chords. For example, C chord is made up of C E G; G chord is made up of G B D; Am is A C E and etc. Pianist and keyboardist with theory knowledge will have no problem memorising this, such that it's already more of a habit than memory. Maybe this is the part where most guitarist get stuck, remembering which notes form which chords. Especially for weird 7 or 9 chords like C7,Cmaj7,Cm7,Cdim,Caug.
But if you manage to remember which notes form which chords, deriving the chord fingering will be possible! Lets take a look at how we derive the C chord (CEG) from EADGBe:
e (E is in chord C = do nothing) > e
B (need to change B to next closest chord C note = C = press 1st fret) > c
G (G in chord C = do nothing) > G
D (need to change D to next closest chord C note = E = press 2nd fret) > E
A (need to change A to next closest chord C note = C = press 3rd fret) > C
E (usually chord C wun strum this unless it's a C/E, but anyway E is in chord C = do nothing) > E (or C/G means i have to turn E into G = press 3rd fret) > G

So in effect the tab becomes
0
1
0
2
3
x or 0 or 3 (C or C/E or C/G)

Basically it's just like that, hope it's understandable...
As for the origination derivation as mentioned in the previous post by godspeed64, it will take another post...

 

[kym]

u may visit www.guitarplayer.com and find the video on the "breaking the CAGED" to understand better what godspeed64 meant. when u know theory, in less than 3s, u can know how to finger a chord anywhere on the fretboard.

 

[Godspeed64]

Thanks for cleaning up my mess.. Haha.. I'm still learning, so I ain't perfect..
In fact nobody is.. :mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[burping_boy]

Now for expansion of "shape where it originated".
C shape was done in my last post.
A shape is called A shape because you must know how Chord A (A C# E) looks like:
e (E is in Chord A = do nothing) > e
B (change B to next closest chord A note = C# = press 2nd fret) > c#
G (change G to next closest chord A note = A = press 2nd fret) > A
D (change D to next closest chord A note = E = press 2nd fret) > E
A (A is in Chord A = do nothing) > A
E (either x for A or do nothing for A/E since E is in Chord A) > x or E
Therefore Chord A is
0
2
2
2
0
x or 0 (A or A/E)

NOW imagine your index finger as a CAPO, and you capo first fret, so whole chord goes up by 1 semitone = Bb chord
0 -----> 1
2 -----> 3
2 -----> 3
2 -----> 3
0 -----> 1
0 -----> 1
Tada! you got Bb chord. Likewise, you can get a B chord, C chord, C# chord with this "A Shape" by moving down the fret, with your index finger as a "Capo".
Therefore the C chord in A shape is (A to C = 3frets so "capo" at 3rd fret)
3
5
5
5
3
3

While for E shape, means you start of with an E, and you can, again using your index finger as an imaginery Capo, to derive chord F, F#, G and watever higher, from
E -> F
0 -> 1
0 -> 1
1 -> 2
2 -> 3
2 -> 3
0 -> 1

Likewise with the same logic, with D fingering you can derive any chord higher than D with your "index capo", with Am fingering, derive Bm, Cm and etc; with Em fingering, derive Fm, Gm; this is what i mean by deriving chords and not memorising fingerings!
this was how i learn anyway.
Good luck to all! hope it's understandable...
So longwinded...