Guitar Lesson 9 - Guitar Power Chords

I could go on and on trying to show you chords. There are a ton of them, more than I can cover however there is a great book I'd recommend if you are interested in learning more chords plus whole lot more.
Instead of buying just a book on chords, I highly recommend you get The Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer. This is a terrific book, it covers everything. It will have all the chords you need plus another 200 pages of additional information. It covers just about every aspect of the guitar and also covers amps, recording, microphones...it goes on and on....Great book (If you don't believe me! -take a look at the reviews at amazon.com)
I going to break away from open chords now and introduce you to power chords. These chords are very easy to play, probably easier than what you've learned in other lessons. Power chords give you the heavy sound, most of the time you will hear them on an electric guitar with distortion.
Lesson 9 Part 1 

|-------|   1st String
|-------|   2nd String
|-------|   3rd String
|--4----|   4th String
|--4----|   5th String
|--2----|   6th String

Part 1 (blesson9p1.wav):
Play the chord:
1. Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 6th string.
2. Place your 3rd finger on the 4th fret of the 5th string.
3. Place your 4th finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string.
4. Strum down from the 6th string, do not play bottom three strings.

These chords are easy to play, once you got the example try moving up and down the neck of the guitar still playing the chord from the sixth string. For example, play the chord above then play it from the 3rd fret, 4th fret, etc.



Lesson 9 Part 2 
E|-----|
B|-----|
G|--4--|
D|--4--|
A|--2--|
E|-----|


Part 2 (blesson9p2.wav):
Play the chord:
1. Place your 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 5th string.
2. Place your 3rd finger on the 4th fret of the 4th string.
3. Place your 4th finger on the 4th fret of the 3rd string.
4. Strum down from the 5th string, do not play bottom three strings.
This is just like above except you're playing it on the 5th string. Don't play this chord by taking the time to look down at the strings and place the pick between the fifth and sixth string. Here's the trick: mute out the 6th string by resting your middle finger on the 6th string. Do NOT press down just let your middle finger rest on it.

Lesson 9 Part 3 - Smells Like Teen Spirit Intro/Chorus (Optional) 

E|----------x-x-x-------------------------x-x-x------------------|
B|----------x-x-x-------------------------x-x-x------------------|
G|----------x-x-x--3--3--3-3-3------------x-x-x--5--5---5--5--5--|
D|-3--3--3--x-x-x--3--3--3-3-3---5--5--5--x-x-x--5--5---5--5--5--| 
A|-3--3--3--x-x-x--1--1--1-1-1---5--5--5--x-x-x--3--3---3--3--3--|
E|-1--1--1--x-x-x----------------3--3--3--x-x-x------------------|
 |-d--u--d--u-d-u--u--d--u-d-u---d--u--d--u-d-u--u--d---u--d--u--|


Part 3 (Smells Like Teen Spirit at Amazon.com):
This is the intro & chorus to a song called "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana off the album Nevermind. This simple riff ended up revolutionizing music in the early nineties. This riff is good practice for power chords, muting and timing. Beginners may find the timing a little tricky at first but stick to it and you'll get it.

The song itself the riff above is played without distortion for the first time in the beginning. It then repeats with distortion and for the rest of the song is played with distortion.

To hear the sound file you will need to click on the link above. This will open a new window. In the new window at amazon.com click on the Nevermind link. This should take you to product detail page, scroll down until you see "Listen to Samples" - click on Smells Like Teen Spirit. The sample at amazon.com starts off with the chorus, shown above. Also note, you will have to have real player to listen to it.



Nirvana fan? Check out the book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Micheal Azerrad. It's an incredible book about all the members of the band and how Nirvana got started.
Lesson 9 Part 4 - Palm muting 
|---------------------------------------------------| 1st String
|---------------------------------------------------| 2nd String
|---------------------------------------------------| 3rd String
|--4--4--4--4--4--4--4--4-/-6--6--6--6--6--6--6--6--| 4th String
|--4--4--4--4--4--4--4--4-/-6--6--6--6--6--6--6--6--| 5th String
|--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2-/-4--4--4--4--4--4--4--4--| 6th String


Part 4 (blesson9p4.wav):
Palm muting is a simple technique that will deepen the sound of power chords and shorten the sustain of the notes. To palm mute: gently rest the pinkie side of your picking hand (the hand that holds the pick) accross the strings just above the bridge. See the picture for an example.

Remember to be gentle the more pressure you apply the deeper and less sustain you will get.

Next Lesson: Guitar Slide