THe toughest part of all about guitar playing: "THE POWERCHORD"

[GuitarKore]

How come every great shredder plays it w/ their 1st and forth fingers? Shouldn't it be played w/ the 3rd finger instead of the 4th?

[Karatexgreg]

what the fuck are you talking about?

[RyanFelix]

I use the 1st ringer for the root, the 3rd for the 2nd note up and the 4th finger for the highest note.

But really dude, it's not a huge deal. They're power chords, you play them however it feels comfortable to you, haha.

[Supreme]

i always see it played the way ryan explained it.

i play it with just my pinky cause that's how i learned. i heard that tony iommi did it that way because he lacked sensitivity in this middle and ring finger from some accident.

[Savior]

I play them with my index and ring finger.

[bobbydanger]

i only use one finger.

[RyanFelix]

i only use one finger.

Drop C, zlol.

[Savior]

I play in Dropped B like a real man. ;)

[asthesunsets]

yeah i noticed recently that use my index and pinky finger. it allows me to make really fast slides and changes. using my ring just makes my hand ache.

[BZM]

How come every great shredder plays it w/ their 1st and forth fingers? Shouldn't it be played w/ the 3rd finger instead of the 4th?

lol jack white plays them with his first and fourth fingers

great player though

[MetalVette]

"I'm Mark Tremonti, I play with NONE! Open D, huHA!"

[Shawn]

dude... tremonti is actually pretty damn good. he can shred on any and every instrument.


I use 1 2 and 3

[Obswalq]

1 3 4 for me.

[MetalVette]

I think he's good too, I'm not downing him. As a matter of fact I saw AlterBridge a little over a year ago. It was a very good show. :hbang32en

[seijuromitsurugi]

i use my index and pinky... i find it more efficient when switching power chords a lot

[KaffeinE]

1 3 4 for me.

I do that or 1 and 3 if it's just two strings.

[veggiebooty]

i use my index and ring finger.

[TomIsFasterThanYou]

I use my thumb and pinky finger.

Is that weird?

[KaffeinE]

No, it just means your fingers are long or your guitar is small.

[TomIsFasterThanYou]

I was kidding.

[KaffeinE]

no, i think you have a small guitar and are afraid to admit it.

[TomIsFasterThanYou]

If by "guitar", you are implying "penis", then yes, I do have a small one, but only because I lost part of it in a freak industrial accident.

Just kidding, Actually, the neck on my Schecter is fairly chunky and my Strat is average I guess., Im trying to get together the money to buy Rhett's S series later this year...now thats a small guitar.

[BZM]

If by "guitar", you are implying "penis", then yes, I do have a small one, but only because I lost part of it in a freak industrial accident.

Just kidding, Actually, the neck on my Schecter is fairly chunky and my Strat is average I guess., Im trying to get together the money to buy Rhett's S series later this year...now thats a small guitar.

lol i thought he said he would never part with that axe

hypocrite

[I_Killed YOur Face]

People use their index and pinky fingers on power chords rooted on the A string so that if you have to shift down to a power chord rooted on the E string you can use your index and ring finger, making it a much smoother and more accurate transition from chord to chord.

[7stringninja]

I have multiple techniques I use on fretting powerchords, it just depends on the other material around it.

1) Use 1st and 3rd fingers - General use. Maintains 1-finger/fret alignment, so that any note can be accessed at the tip of your fingers. Also allows the pinky to either play the octave note in the 3-note chord, or to do other things.

2) Use 1st and 2nd fingers - I use this from time to time, and it is not by any means unfomfortable. The only reason I don't use it exclusively is because the note in the 2nd position is not "on-tap" and would require one of your fingers to unfret the note it is playing, and then refret the new note.

The reason I even started using that fingering is for I/III/IV blues bars and for adding that awesome 9th to a note and it's 5th. I can hit to 9th while fretting with 1st and 3rd, but it's a bit of a stretch, and that minor 3rd is MUCH more readily accessible with this fingering.

3) Use the 2nd and 4th fingers - this is a technique I learned after reading an article by Kirk Hammett. I use the 2nd/4th technique when I want to quickly switch to another "powerchord" that is 1/2-step down from the one I am playing. EXAMPLE: I am playing A5 (5th-fret/6th-string. 7th-fret/5th string, 7th-fret/4th string) and I want to switch to Aflat5 which would move every finger down 1 fret. The way to avoid the sliding sound, and make each note sound individual, is to quickly toggle between 2/4 and 1/3 fingers being used. 2 and 1 are the fingers that hold down your root note, and the pinky and the ring finger holding down the 5th and the octave for the appropriate chord.

Also, when shaping E5 (or whatever 5th chord your open strings create) I try and use my 2nd finger to fret the 2nd-fret on the 5th and 4th strings, so that I can quickly toggle between that and F5 by just throwing down my 1st and 3rd fingers, and even take it a step further in the progression by lifting 1 and 3, and throwing down 2 and 4. That's right, 3 successive power-chords without your hand moving one fret.

[Scrote]

lol, shut up.

1 & 4 all the way faggots... unless a fuller sound is required, in which case I bust out the 1 3 4 combo.

Booyah!

[7stringninja]

lol, shut up.

1 & 4 all the way faggots... unless a fuller sound is required, in which case I bust out the 1 3 4 combo.

Booyah!

I think I see the 1-4 combination innefficient, because you have two fingers between the two you are using, but only one fret in between the frets. You probably are not going to use both your 2nd and 3rd finger to fret the middle note, and unless you like stretching unneccessarily, you aren't going to use either of those fingers to fret notes outside of the powerchord shape.

The 1,3,4 - I use this, but mainly when I want to enforce the chord further, with a 4th and/or 5th note. Using just the 3rd finger alone to hold down the 5th and octave can sometimes cause unwanted muting on the 3rd string, and prevents clearly sounding the note on that string. An example of when I would use this is when playing a Gminor (G,D,G, Bflat) or a Gmajor (G,D,G, B) or whatever the root note may be.

[Orkestra]

1 and 4 for me... I don't actually know why, thats just how i taught myself. It doesn't really matter

[strychnine]

I use 1 and 3 and then without thinking i'll use 1 and 4. they both feel fine to me and its not really a big deal. You know what to use and you know what feels right.

[dactylSAUR]

I'm the only person I know who uses the 1, 2, 3 combo. But I have big hands so it's easier I guess.


unless a fuller sound is required, in which case I bust out the 1 3 4 combo.


When is full sound not required?

[teh Mazn]

17 13 and 49

[Wiggles]

I taught myself to play guitar 3 years ago, and up until a month or two ago i used 1 - 4, but i re-taught myself to use 1 3 as i have big hands so its just as easy and feels easier to switch between chords

[Shawn]

thats why i use 1,2,3

[enemyofgod]

the reason people(great shredders) use 1-4 is to gain pinky strength since your pinky is your weakest finger.

[Shawn]

actually your ring finger is.

[TomIsFasterThanYou]

This thread is gay.

[Shawn]

your mom is gay.

[pale666]

mum*

[Shawn]

*not from england or an English prison state.

[TomIsFasterThanYou]

*not from england or an English prison state.

I laughed.

[pale666]

all hail the convicts.

[Savior]

the reason people(great shredders) use 1-4 is to gain pinky strength since your pinky is your weakest finger.
Real men strengthen their pinky by playing Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead.

[RyanFelix]

Real men strengthen their pinky by playing Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead.

Fuck yes. Those trills are great for building hand strength.

And the fast power chord riff is great for building shifting speed.

[indigent]

I think I see the 1-4 combination innefficient, because you have two fingers between the two you are using, but only one fret in between the frets. You probably are not going to use both your 2nd and 3rd finger to fret the middle note, and unless you like stretching unneccessarily, you aren't going to use either of those fingers to fret notes outside of the powerchord shape.

The 1,3,4 - I use this, but mainly when I want to enforce the chord further, with a 4th and/or 5th note. Using just the 3rd finger alone to hold down the 5th and octave can sometimes cause unwanted muting on the 3rd string, and prevents clearly sounding the note on that string. An example of when I would use this is when playing a Gminor (G,D,G, Bflat) or a Gmajor (G,D,G, B) or whatever the root note may be.

Seriously dude, shut up. These are power chords we're talking about. No one really gives a shit about your science behind it. Faggot.

[sleepeternal]

Originally Posted by 7stringninja
I think I see the 1-4 combination innefficient, because you have two fingers between the two you are using, but only one fret in between the frets. You probably are not going to use both your 2nd and 3rd finger to fret the middle note, and unless you like stretching unneccessarily, you aren't going to use either of those fingers to fret notes outside of the powerchord shape.

The 1,3,4 - I use this, but mainly when I want to enforce the chord further, with a 4th and/or 5th note. Using just the 3rd finger alone to hold down the 5th and octave can sometimes cause unwanted muting on the 3rd string, and prevents clearly sounding the note on that string. An example of when I would use this is when playing a Gminor (G,D,G, Bflat) or a Gmajor (G,D,G, B) or whatever the root note may be.
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I never read this rant until now, but if you have to go so deep with every chord as to set yourself up for the next your not a very strong player. If someone plays with their index and pinky its not saying thats how they always play a chord, but rather maybe just the root and fifth chord itself with no adds.

By the way pretty long explaination.

[Hoovooloo]

IT'S A POWERCHORD, WHO GIVES A FUCK

[M. Diddy Oien]

werd.

[Velcrophagist]

this dude I use to play with never I repeat NEVER used is pinky finger for anything. He only used 1-2-3. One time I suggested he try those chromatic excersizes:

1-2-3-4--------
--------1-2-3-4

to build strength in his pinky but he just flipped out about how I think I know so much. I'll be laughin one day when he looks at his hand and all thats left of his pinky is a shrivelled up vestige of what used to be a finger.

[BZM]

I have multiple techniques I use on fretting powerchords, it just depends on the other material around it.

1) Use 1st and 3rd fingers - General use. Maintains 1-finger/fret alignment, so that any note can be accessed at the tip of your fingers. Also allows the pinky to either play the octave note in the 3-note chord, or to do other things.

2) Use 1st and 2nd fingers - I use this from time to time, and it is not by any means unfomfortable. The only reason I don't use it exclusively is because the note in the 2nd position is not "on-tap" and would require one of your fingers to unfret the note it is playing, and then refret the new note.

The reason I even started using that fingering is for I/III/IV blues bars and for adding that awesome 9th to a note and it's 5th. I can hit to 9th while fretting with 1st and 3rd, but it's a bit of a stretch, and that minor 3rd is MUCH more readily accessible with this fingering.

3) Use the 2nd and 4th fingers - this is a technique I learned after reading an article by Kirk Hammett. I use the 2nd/4th technique when I want to quickly switch to another "powerchord" that is 1/2-step down from the one I am playing. EXAMPLE: I am playing A5 (5th-fret/6th-string. 7th-fret/5th string, 7th-fret/4th string) and I want to switch to Aflat5 which would move every finger down 1 fret. The way to avoid the sliding sound, and make each note sound individual, is to quickly toggle between 2/4 and 1/3 fingers being used. 2 and 1 are the fingers that hold down your root note, and the pinky and the ring finger holding down the 5th and the octave for the appropriate chord.

Also, when shaping E5 (or whatever 5th chord your open strings create) I try and use my 2nd finger to fret the 2nd-fret on the 5th and 4th strings, so that I can quickly toggle between that and F5 by just throwing down my 1st and 3rd fingers, and even take it a step further in the progression by lifting 1 and 3, and throwing down 2 and 4. That's right, 3 successive power-chords without your hand moving one fret.

How much can you write about a fucking root and fifth?

[skin_blanketed]

I'll be laughin one day when he looks at his hand and all thats left of his pinky is a shrivelled up vestige of what used to be a finger.
I lol'd

When i'm playing faster stuff i'll use my pinky but when i'm playing slower stuff i use my ring finger. I can't stand watching people play using the 1, 2, 3 combo. Drives me fucking crazy for some reason.

[indigent]

this dude I use to play with never I repeat NEVER used is pinky finger for anything. He only used 1-2-3.

Yngwie almost never uses his pinky, 'cept maybe for the root at the top of a triad arpeggio.

[Savior]

I have a friend like that as well. I can't figure out how he doesn't use his pinky.

[agenda suicide]

i always see it played the way ryan explained it.

i play it with just my pinky cause that's how i learned. i heard that tony iommi did it that way because he lacked sensitivity in this middle and ring finger from some accident.

he lost both tips and crafted new ones out of leather.

[Hoovooloo]

I really hope that chick is covered in semi melted sugar.

[ttiwguitar]

I really hope that chick is covered in semi melted sugar.

...what?

[agenda suicide]

I really hope that chick is covered in semi melted sugar.

why? that shit would be hot as fuck and her flesh would be melting of her body. not nearly as arousing.

[*RBD*]

I really hope that chick is covered in semi melted sugar.
Semen?

[Hoovooloo]

Ugh.

[M. Diddy Oien]

pussy's

[Savior]

You guys do realize dreams had that av before everyone told him to go fuck himself and he got rid of it, right? Or are most of you guys seriously THAT new?

[agenda suicide]

i am. ive only been around since the cloacal kiss board was started. i repped the daughters board until they took it down.

[BZM]

i am. ive only been around since the cloacal kiss board was started. i repped the daughters board until they took it down.

this explains a lot.

[agenda suicide]

this explains a lot.

w0w you t0ta11y pwn3d me.

[Obswalq]

REETTTURURUDURUDRUARDDREDDID

[agenda suicide]

REETTTURURUDURUDRUARDDREDDID

a & m huh? my brother went there. that school is a fucking cult.

[M. Diddy Oien]

what are you boi? some kind of french fried nigger?

[Obswalq]

a & m huh? my brother went there. that school is a fucking cult.

A&M is gay.

[agenda suicide]

A&M is gay.

agreed.