#1
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Power and moveable chords questions
Ok, I have 2 questions:
1). Regarding power chords: they are made of the 1st and 5th notes of a triad, or I guess just the 1st and 5th degrees of a scale. The E power chord is 022xxx. If you play 079900, which is still just E's and B's and the root is on the most bass string, is that still a power chord? Or is it weakened by the inclusion of the treble strings? In other words, is the power chord defined by its sound as well as the notes included? 2.) Regarding moveable chords: The E uses all 6 strings, open and fretted. If you move the 3 fretted notes up one fret you can play an F but can't include the open strings. So you have to barre across the first fret to use all the strings. Are moveable chords defined by chord forms that can be played the same way, fretted notes and open strings, in several places on the fretboard? So the E form barre is moveable but not the open E? Is that right?
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Denise Martin HD-28V VTS, MFG Custom Taylor 358e 12 string Martin 00L-17 Voyage Air OM04 Breedlove Oregon Concert 1975 Aria 9422 |
#2
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Quote:
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x-3-2-0-1-0 = C shape 3-3-5-5-5-3 = A shape 8-7-5-5-5-8 = G shape 8-10-10-9-8-8 = E shape x-10-10-12-13-12 = D shape x-15-14-12-13-12 = C shape again (and so on) - all C chords in terms of sound - because they all contain the notes C-E-G in various permutations. BTW, you can move open chord shapes up and leave the open strings ringing, but you get more complicated (and interesting) chords. E.g., 0-5-5-3-0-0 is a kind of Em7. 0-5-4-0-3-0 is a kind of Em9. 0-0-5-5-5-0 is a kind of Am7.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#3
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JonPR pretty much covered it up. I want to add, that even though 079900 is technically a power chord, it will not sound like a power chord if played with moderate to heavy distortion. It will sound muddy. Although a power chord is usually taught as I V I, as you add distortion omitting the octave will give more of a “power” effect because it will emphasize the lower root note. When you add the octave, it will brighten the chord and take some “power” out of it. That’s why on hard rock and metal, power chords are usually just played without the octave.
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#4
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Thank you both for your answers
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Denise Martin HD-28V VTS, MFG Custom Taylor 358e 12 string Martin 00L-17 Voyage Air OM04 Breedlove Oregon Concert 1975 Aria 9422 |
#5
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It would be 1st inversion if the 3rd was on bottom - as in 0-3-2-0-1-0 for a C chord, or 2-0-0-2-3-2 for a D chord. I put the 5th in the bass because (a) it's usually easier to play them that way (saving having to mute that string) and (b) they sound fine. Putting the 3rd on the bottom generally sounds weird, unless you're doing to as part of a bass line. E.g., you wouldn't normally play D/F# unless it was in between G and Em (either direction). Quote:
Technically, just adding more roots and 5ths shouldn't sound muddy as long as everything is perfectly in tune. The higher roots simply support overtones of the lower roots, and same with the 5ths. But it would be a brighter sounding chord, because the higher strings will have their own sets of higher overtones. Distortion makes chords sound muddy when you add the 3rds, because in our equal tempered tuning system 3rds are slightly out of tune with overtones of the root - and distortion enhances those overtones. This is (probably) the main reason power chords were invented - by electric guitarists using the first distortion units in the 1960s. That "muddiness" is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Jimi Hendrix managed to make distorted 7#9 chords (including both 3rds as well the 7th) sound cool....
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#6
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The first time I saw the term power chord it was used to describe Pete Townsend bashing away on major chords ala Baba O'riley. It wasn't until much later that the name became strictly associated with the Root 5th combination only.
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