Power chords and palm muting

If there is one sound that defines rock and metal guitar, it's the power chord played through a distorted amp. It's also one of the easiest things to play on guitar.

What is a power chord?

A power chord has only two different notes: the root (1) and the fifth (5), often with the root doubled an octave up (8). It has no third, so it's neither major nor minor — which is why it sounds clean and huge even with lots of distortion. It's written with a 5: G5, A5, E5…

The shape

Root on the 6th string:

Root on the 5th string — same shape, one string over:

Because the shape never changes, you can play any power chord by sliding it to the right root. Use the 6th- and 5th-string notes you learned in notes on the fretboard.

Palm muting

Palm muting (PM) gives you that tight, chunky, percussive "chug". Rest the side of your picking hand lightly on the strings, right where they leave the bridge. Then pick.

• Too far from the bridge → the notes die completely.
• Too close (or on the bridge) → no muting effect.
• Find the spot where the notes still have pitch but sound short and punchy.

Combine palm-muted notes and open, ringing chords to create dynamics.

Riff 1: chug and hit

Palm mute the open E notes, then let the power chords ring. Use down picks for everything.

   PM-------------
e|-----------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------|
D|-----------------5---5-------7-----|
A|-----------------5---5-------7-----|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-3---3---0-0-5-----|

Riff 2: moving on the 5th string

e|-------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------|
G|-7-7---7-7---5-5---5-5---------------|
D|-7-7---7-7---5-5---5-5---3-3-3-3-----|
A|-5-5---5-5---3-3---3-3---3-3-3-3-----|
E|-------------------------1-1-1-1-----|

The riff goes D5 – C5 – F5. The last chord uses the 6th-string shape at the 1st fret: you can switch between both shapes to keep your hand in one area of the neck.

Riff 3: gallop (metal)

The gallop rhythm is one eighth note followed by two sixteenths: da – da-da, da – da-da. It's the sound of horses running — and of classic heavy metal.

   PM-----------------------------------------------------------
e|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------5---5-5-5---5-5-|
E|-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-0---0-0-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-3---3-3-|