Power Chords!!!

[Voodoo-Child]

I know that Power Chords are neither Major or Minor, because they ommit the 3rd, but when playing in a Key say, C Major, the Chords built from it are:

C Dm Em F G7 Am Bdim

But if you made them in to Power Chords:

C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5, B5,

What my point is, is there any Theory in Which Power Chords Sound best together, as Technically they aren't 'Real' Chords.

I have come up with Power Chord Riffs, that Sound Great, but I use them 'Randomly', however, I know have seen 12 Bar Blues Progressions, that use 2 String Open Power Chords, but this uses a 1-4-5, I am confused.

[Wudluv2sweep]

Actually B dim doesnt make a power chord
power chord is essentially a triad without the third, a diminished triad is B D F, remove the 3rd(minor) and you get B and F these actually make a flat 5th

e-----------
b--------
g---------
d-3-------
a-2-------
e------

this can sound a bit weird if you were just using powerchords diatonically (ie using notes from the scale)

as far as theorey goes, rock wise i would guess the most common use is to harmonise the roots or melodey being played with perfect 5ths (normal powerchords) rather then mess with weather you get dim or aug or straight 5ths

[Zatz]

...when playing in a Key say, C Major, the Chords built from it are:

C Dm Em F G7 Am Bdim

But if you made them in to Power Chords:

C5, D5, E5, F5, G5, A5, B5,



Actually you can't form B5 while staying strictly within C major tonality cos the fifth of B5 is F#.


What my point is, is there any Theory in Which Power Chords Sound best together, as Technically they aren't 'Real' Chords.


In most cases powerchord progressions can be costructed using general simple melody composing guidelines due to the fact that X5 chords don't contain dissonances that need to be resolved - so you can mess around with them pretty freely.

Zatz.

[Zatz]

Wudluv2sweep,

Hehe :D

We posted almost identical answers ;)

Zatz

[Voodoo-Child]

Thanks for your help, But what about the Open Power Chord 12 bar Blues like this:

---------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------- 2--2----------------2-------------------
--2---2---2--2---0--0---2----2-------0---2----2----------
--0---0---0--0----------0----0---2-------0----0----------
----------------------------------0-----------------------

This uses a 1-4-5, and sounds good too!

[fader198]

Thanks for your help, But what about the Open Power Chord 12 bar Blues like this:

---------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------- 2--2----------------2-------------------
--2---2---2--2---0--0---2----2-------0---2----2----------
--0---0---0--0----------0----0---2-------0----0----------
----------------------------------0-----------------------

This uses a 1-4-5, and sounds good too!
All of those notes are diatonic to both A minor and A Major alike. Therefore, it can't exactly sound "wrong." You gould go with a minor or major scale when improvising over that progression.

[Ragman]

heh, power chords are killer

[Voodoo-Child]

heh, power chords are killer
Yeah, I came up with a Riff yesterday, for my new Song, I just cranked up the Distortion, and played a few Power Chords, and it sounded really nice and Heavy.

I just love the simplicity of Power Chords, the shapes are easy to hold, the Theory of them, is easy to understand, and they Sound AWESOME!

I can barely think of a many great Rock Songs, of the last 30 Years that don't feature at least some!

[curiousgeorge]

try add11 chords with distortion.

[oRg]

There are a couple older rock songs that don't use power chords. Guys like Pink Floyd never really used alot of power-chords if I remember correctly.

add9 chords are pretty cool. They have a cool sound to them when they're distorted. add4 chords are also somewhat cool. John Petrucci when playing alot of his stuff actually adds alot of different things to his power-chords to make them sound a little different and he also uses them to do transitions. Another one of my favorite power-chords go:
e-----------------|
B-----------------|
G--9-----7-----7--|
D--7--8--x--7--7--|
A--7--7--7--5--5--|
E--5--5--5--5--5--|
Some of them I use alot. For instance the 4th chord above I use alot in Death Metal. I usually play that in the background and solo over in Harmonic Minor. Can't remember which mode but it's one of them..lol. Here's a nice death metal riff which I use in a few songs. It's nots exactly like how I play it. Right now I'm on a computer that doesn't have sound. It maybe a slower tempo than most death metal but this is just the intro. The rest of the song is pretty much around 180 bpm.

[Tiger Lily]

instead of powerchords, use barre chords for complete sounds.

is annoying, i love powerchords cuz they sound good, but then their too easy, cuz so many combos work, and yet ehir cool, and yet i feel like im cheatin myself if i rely soly on powerchords, and yet....

(ill stop tlkaign to myself now..)