Two fingers, one shape, every punk song ever written. This is the chord I started a band with, in a garage that smelled like gasoline.
A power chord is just two notes played together: a root and its fifth, written as E5, A5, G5. The magic is that the shape is movable. Learn it once, slide it to a new fret, and it becomes a new chord. The name changes; your fingers don't.
Build it:
- 1Play E5: open low E string, index on the A string's second fret, ring on the D string's second fret.
- 2Strum only those three thick strings.
- 3Now the movable version: index on the low E string at any fret, ring two frets up on the A string.
- 4Slide the whole shape up two frets, and that's a different chord.
- 5Keep the fingers in formation while sliding: release pressure, glide, press.
The skill that separates good power chords from mud is muting. Let your index finger lie gently across the thinner strings, not pressing, just touching, so they can't ring. Now you can strum hard and loose, and only your chord comes out.
🔑 KEY IDEA
Distortion exposes, it doesn't cover
Why does it sound neither happy nor sad? A power chord skips the one note that decides major versus minor, so it commits to neither, which is exactly why the same shape works over both in songs. And the names come from the index finger's fret on the low E string: fret one is F5, fret three G5, fret five A5.
🔥 PRO TIP
If your wrist aches, look at your arm
Slide it, mute the rest, crank it. When the neighbors complain, you're doing it right. Kidding. Mostly.
Keep Learning: Check out this helpful video from Musician Fitness.
Video from Musician Fitness ↗ . Go show them some love on YouTube.
Your turn ⭐
Power play
Question 1 of 3
Why can one power chord shape become every power chord?
The cheat sheet
- A power chord is two notes, root and fifth, written with a 5: E5, A5, G5.
- One movable shape: index on the root, ring two frets up on the next string. Slide it, new chord.
- Muting is the skill: the index rests across the thin strings so only the chord rings.
- Names come from the index finger's fret on the low E: one is F5, three is G5, five is A5.
Common questions
Should I learn power chords or open chords first?
Either order works, honestly. Power chords deliver real songs faster and are physically easier, while open chords build the foundation most other guitar skills stand on. If rock and punk are why you picked up a guitar, start here and let open chords follow.
Are power chords real chords or is it cheating?
They power entire genres, so the question answers itself. Technically two notes is an interval rather than a chord, and nobody in the history of rock has ever cared. Learn them without guilt.
Two-finger or three-finger version?
Start with two: index on the root, ring on the fifth. The three-finger version adds the same note an octave up for a thicker sound, with the pinky joining one string further over. Add it when the two-finger slide feels automatic, not before.