The trusty drop D power chord. Used by many, made interesting by few.
Plenty of people have covered this sort of thing, so I've tried to include some ideas that don't get talked about as much. Everything here is a small change to the one-finger power chord you already know, and most of it is just a finger added, moved or flipped.
All the tab below is in drop D, so the bottom line is your low D string. The shapes are written low to high: "3 3 5" means 3rd fret on the low D, 3rd fret on the A, 5th fret on the D string.
The basic drop D power chord and the key ▶ 0:20
In drop D, a power chord is just the three lowest strings barred across one fret with your first finger. You can extend it by adding the G string two frets higher with your third or little finger, so 3 3 3 5.
All of these chords are in the key of the open low string. In drop D that's D minor. If you're in drop B, it's B minor, and so on. So they should all work together, but do try them in other keys and borrow chords from other keys to see what progressions you can come up with.
The frets you can use for power chords in D minor are the open strings, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 12, and then the pattern repeats above the 12th fret. A lot of people use the 2nd fret too, and you can kind of get away with it. Technically the note on the A string there isn't in D minor, but it tends to work.
Major shapes on the 3rd fret: add9, major and major 7 ▶ 2:01
The 3rd fret chord (F) is the first major chord on the neck, and these shapes move around a lot.
- Add9, 3 3 5. It kind of looks like a power chord, which is why so many people stumble across it by accident. You hear loads of these in the final chorus of "Papercut" by Linkin Park, and Deftones use them all the time. It works on almost every fret except the 7th, where the note in the key is a fret lower (more on that one below).
- Major, 3 3 7. Stretch the little finger a bit further and you get the major 3rd. It adds a bit of depth to the plain power chord sound.
- Flipped major, 7 3 3. Here's where it gets more interesting. You've got two D strings, so anything that works on the higher one works on the low one. Move that 7th fret note down to the low D and you've got a much darker version of the exact same chord. It's a stretch, though.
- Root and major 7th, 3 7 3. This is dissonant. There's no 3rd in it, so it's really just a root and a major 7th interval.
- Major 7th, 3 7 7. Now you've got root, major 7th and the major 3rd an octave up.
You can also flip the add9 upside down. It sounds a bit ambiguous, but it kind of works.
e|------------------------------| B|------------------------------| G|------------------------------| D|-3---5---7---3---3---7--------| A|-3---3---3---3---7---7--------| D|-3---3---3---7---3---3--------|
These stretchy ones get easier higher up. The 8th fret is another handy place for them.
Inversions: when the root is in the middle ▶ 5:00
Some shapes put the root somewhere other than the bottom. That's a chord inversion. I won't get too deep into the theory, but you need to know which note is the root wherever you play them.
- 3 5 7 is actually a D chord. The root is the middle note, the 5th fret on the A string.
- 8 10 12 is the same idea, and the root is the 10th fret on the A string, which is G.
- 3 5 3 7 takes it further. The 7th fret on the G string is an octave above the 5th fret on the A.
- 5 3 5 is an inverted power chord, and the 3rd fret in the middle is the root. I think Killswitch Engage use this in "My Curse".
- 7 5 7 is a power chord with the 5th in the bass. Instead of 5 and 7 on the A and D strings, you put the 7th fret in the bass for a nice thick sound. 2 0 2 works the same way with the open A.
- 3 5 3 5 is a minor 7th. The root is the 5th fret on the A string, so it's a D minor 7.
e|-----------------------------------| B|-----------------------------------| G|-----------7-------------------5---| D|-7---12----3---5---7---2-------3---| A|-5---10----5---3---5---0-------5---| D|-3---8-----3---5---7---2-------3---|
Bigger major shapes ▶ 6:04
- 3 3 3 2 is just a plain major chord, with the 2nd fret on the G string.
- 3 3 3 5 5 takes the extended power chord and adds the 5th fret on the B string, which makes it a major 7th.
- You can get really inventive with that major 7th and build it into a much bigger shape across five strings. Quite in-depth for a power chord player. Watch the exact fingering at 6:23.
e|-----------| B|---------5-| G|-2---5---5-| D|-3---3---3-| A|-3---3---3-| D|-3---3---3-|
Minor shapes on the 5th fret ▶ 7:56
The 5th fret chord (G) is the first minor chord in the key, and these shapes move around too.
- 5 5 8 adds the minor 3rd on top. This works on the 7th fret too.
- 8 5 5 is that flipped upside down. It sounds quite moody.
- 5 5 7 is the add9 again.
- 5 7 8 is a diminished chord, and it resolves really nicely back to the open chord.
- 5 8 5 and 5 8 8 are minor 7ths with different notes in them.
- 5 5 5 3 is the plain minor chord, with the 3rd fret on the G string. It also works on the 7th and 12th frets.
- 5 5 5 7 6 is another minor 7th. I don't love the sound of it, but it does kind of work.
e|-------------------------------------| B|-----------------------------------6-| G|-------------------------------3---7-| D|-8---5---7---8---5---8---------5---5-| A|-5---5---5---7---8---8---------5---5-| D|-5---8---5---5---5---5---------5---5-|
Which frets each shape works on ▶ 10:46
As a rule, the major shapes from the 3rd fret work on the 3rd, the 8th and some of them on the 10th. So 3 3 3 2 becomes 8 8 8 7 and 10 10 10 9. The minor shapes from the 5th fret work on the 5th, the 7th, the 12th and the open strings (12 and open are the same, remember).
Darker colours: the 7th fret, harmonic minor and dissonance ▶ 11:02
Here are some odd ones out.
- 7 7 8 or 8 7 7. I said you can't do the add9 on the 7th fret, but this works instead. It's dark, it really grinds, and it resolves really well back to the root chord.
- 7 7 11. If you want to be a bit different, bring in the harmonic minor scale. The 7th fret is the 5th note of the scale, normally a minor chord, but here you play it as major.
- 8 8 11. The 8th fret would normally be major. Play it minor instead of 8 8 12 and that's another harmonic minor chord.
- 10 13 14. A dominant 7th chord. It resolves quite nicely, and I think it sounds cool on its own. Flip it to 14 13 10 if you can hold it.
- 3 3 7 3 or 8 8 12 8. Dissonance in the context of a wider chord.
- 8 8 8 9 or 8 8 12 9. A sharp 11 chord. This one only appears on the 8th fret.
- 8 8 7 10 or 3 3 2 5. Major 7ths, with the low note as the root.
e|-----------------------------------------------| B|-----------------------------------------------| G|-----------------------3---8---9---9---10--5---| D|-8---7---11--11--14----7---12--8---12--7---2---| A|-7---7---7---8---13----3---8---8---8---8---3---| D|-7---8---7---8---10----3---8---8---8---8---3---|
Bring in the open strings ▶ 13:09
Open strings are another way to make things interesting.
- 3 0 0 is technically the open power chord with the minor 3rd in the bass. All you need to remember is that the root is still the open strings, so the bass player should probably just play the open D while you play this.
- 3 0 3 works the same way. And because you've got two D strings, you can swap the same thing between them.
- 7 0 7 is just the same note three times. But start bending the strings and it gets quite cool. Try it on the 8th fret (very dissonant) and the 10th too.
- 0 0 10, 0 0 7, 3 5 0, 3 1 0. Just experiment. You can even bring the open G string in.
The 2nd fret after all ▶ 14:20
I said the 2nd fret isn't so useful, but there are some options. 2 3 5 and 5 3 2 are both inversions, and in each one the 3rd fret on the A string is the root.
That's not every possible shape, but it's a lot of them, and it's more than enough to keep you busy. Pick three or four of these, write a riff that moves between them and your normal power chords, and see which ones you like. You can sketch them out in the Tab Creator as you go.
