Power Chords, Scratchy or Clean - Another way to rock on! Options

[Azzaboi]

When I first started out on the electric guitar, power chords was a real fav of mine. Easy to play, yet so grunty sounding. Yet they didn't sound as cool and chuggy as the professional guitarists and my fav bands.

So what was missing?

You might just start of playing power chords with your fretboard hand but don't realise there's actually a lot more involved between both hands and syncing them with timing to get that chucky rhythm and feel. Counting out loud 1, 2, 3, 4 really does actually help with your timing at first and muting different patterns.

First palm muting from the picking hand is a must to master for rock/metal rhythm. Karate chop the hand over near the bridge with the pinkie out straight and let it relax folding over the strings while holding the pick. Lightly touching the palm on the strings while chugging away.

Next is the muting with the other fretboard hand which completes it...

For a scratchy sound, use the index and third finger (two strongest) for playing power chords. Rather than lifting your fingers off the strings completely when moving positions, raise them just enough and almost slide over the strings. This is great for a punk rock sound. Use the third finger and pinkie of the fretboard hand to also pad the strings when required between.

So here's the major trick - For a clean yet powerful sound, use the index and pinkie instead to play the same power chords. Raise the fingers just enough off the string after playing the chord like before but also quickly mute slapping the two other fingers in between down lightly. It's almost just a very quick tap on the strings between each. However, the result sounds very metallica and clean!

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