Chords: New Power Chords
We often play power chords on the E-A-D or the A-D-G - the thicker and lower strings. This gives a great bottom-end chunk to the song, and the notes used in power chords (the 1st and the 5th notes) give the chord an open feeling, adding further power to it. For the unfamiliar, we often play the C power chord as such:
---------
---------
-----5---
-10--5---
-10--3---
-8-------
However, to give more textures and colors the song try playing chords on the upper registers, but many of us do not know how to use the thinner strings, the E, B, G, and D strings to play power chords. Here's how, using the C power chord again:
-----8---
-13--8---
-12--5---
-10------
---------
---------
I often use this for the chorus if there are two electric guitars, so that the guitars don't duplicate one another. Even if you're playing alone, you can use this to bring up the dynamics of the song, and this works especially well if you do this with while sweeping (by slowly depressing up and down) your wah.
