A power chord is a two note chord, made up of the 1st & 5th notes from a scale.
As power chords do not have a 3rd note (the note that defines the chord as either a major or minor), it means that you can play power chords over both major & minor scales.
So power chords are versatile & are often used in Rock & Blues music, where lead guitarists often switch between major scales (offering an upbeat or happy feel) to minor scales (offering a sad feel).
Scales such as the major pentatonic & the minor pentatonic sound really good over power chords, & that's what you will hear in the backing tracks on this page.
Power Chord Progressions
Although power chords can be played with both major & minor scales, we often find that the power chords used in a song vary according to whether a happy, upbeat feel or a sad, bluesy feel is required.
If a happy, feel is required then the power chords used will be drawn from major scales, such as the ionian, lydian & mixolydian.
When a sad or bluesy feel is required the power chords used are drawn from minor scales, such as the, aeolian, dorian & phrygian.
If you plan to switch between major & minor scales in the same piece of music you will often want to switch to power chords that are common to either the major or the minor scales.
To demonstrate this we will base our power chord progressions on 3 exercises:
- Major Pentatonic Scale Power Chords
- Minor Pentatonic Scale Power Chords
- Major & Minor Pentatonic Scale Power Chords
Forming Power Chords On Major Scales
The notes common to the 3 major scales as outlined in the Major Pentatonic study in the key of C are:
C D E G A
These are the 5 generic notes that are found in the ionian, lydian & mixolydian modes.
So, therefore these notes can be used to form major or happy sounding power chord progressions.
So, in the tone of C you could use the C, D, E, G, A, power chords & play lead guitar from either ionian, lydian, mixolydian & major pentatonic scales & sound fantastic.
Alternatively, you could include the F power chord & only play lead guitar riffs using the ionian, mixolydian & major pentatonic scales. You can not use the lydian mode because the 4th note F is sharpened to F#.
Finally, you could include a B power chord to the mix & use the C ionian, C lydian, C pentatonic scales, but not the C mixolydian because the 7th note in this case the B is flattened to a Bb note.
In summary then, here are the power chord progressions that are available according to your choice of scales to solo over.
To play lead solo's over:
C Major Pentatonic Scale
C Ionian Mode
Use: C, D, E, F, G, A, B power chords.
To play lead solo's over:
C Major Pentatonic Scale
C Lydian Mode
C, D, E, F#, G, A, B power chords.
To play lead solo's over:
C Major Pentatonic Scale
C Mixolydian Mode
C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb power chords.
To play lead solo's over:
C Major Pentatonic Scale
C Ionian Mode
C Lydian Mode
C Mixolydian Mode
C, D, E, G, A power chords.
Forming Power Chords On Minor Scales
The notes common to the 3 minor scales as outlined in the Minor Pentatonic study in the key of C are:
C Eb F G Bb
These are the 5 notes that are found in the aeolian, dorian & phrygian modes.
So, therefore these notes can be used to form sad or bluesy sounding power chord progressions.
So, in the tone of C you could use the C, Eb, F, G, Bb, power chords & play lead guitar from either aeolian , dorian, phrygian & minor pentatonic scales & sound fantastic.
Alternatively, you could include the D power chord & only play lead guitar riffs using the aeolian, dorian & minor pentatonic scales. You can not use the phrygian mode because the 2nd note D is flattened to Db.
In summary then, here are the power chord progressions that are available according to your choice of scales to solo over.
To play lead solo's over:
C Minor Pentatonic Scale
C Aeolian Mode
Use: C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb power chords.
To play lead solo's over:
C Minor Pentatonic Scale
C Dorian Mode
C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb power chords.
To play lead solo's over:
C Minor Pentatonic Scale
C Phrygian Mode
C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb power chords.
Forming A Power Chord
Here are all power chords with the root on the 6th string.
E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E
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2--3--4-----5--6-----7--8-----9--10-11----12--13-----14-----
0--1--2-----3--4-----5--6-----7--8--9-----10--11-----12-----
Here are all power chords with the root on the 5th string.
A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A
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2--3-----4--5--6-----7--8-----9--10-11----12--13----14------
0--1-----2--3--4-----5--6-----7--8--9-----10--11----12------
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Here are all power chords with the root on the 4th string.
D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D
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2--3-----4--5--6-----7--8-----9--10---11--12--13----14------
0--1-----2--3--4-----5--6-----7--8----9---10--11----12------
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