# Power chord shapes

> A power chord is a root and a fifth with no third, which makes it neither major nor minor. That is why it survives heavy distortion without turning to mud, and why one movable shape covers all 12 roots.

A power chord is a root and a fifth — sometimes doubled at the octave, and sometimes with the root added on top. There is no third anywhere in it, which is why it is neither major nor minor and why it survives huge amounts of distortion without turning to mud.

One movable shape covers all twelve roots: put your index on the root, your ring finger two frets up on the next string, and mute everything else. Slide it anywhere and the chord name changes while the shape stays identical.

Two notes or three is an arrangement decision, not a difficulty one. The three-note version adds the root an octave higher on the next string, which gives a rhythm part more body without adding any harmonic colour. The two-note version cuts through a dense mix better and leaves room for a second guitar.

Where power chords go wrong is muting. The strings between and around the shape have to be silenced with the edges of your fretting hand and the heel of your palm, or the distortion turns every extra string into mush. Practise the shape with the gain turned off first, so you can hear what is ringing when it should not be.

Because a power chord carries no major-or-minor information, you can play one shape through a song that originally had six chords and it never sounds wrong. That is why punk and metal arrangements convert whole progressions this way, and it is the fastest route to playing a song you already know at twice the tempo.

Three of the 12 shapes here are open-position and nine are movable. The movable ones are the point: one hand position plus a count up the low strings gives you every root, which is why this is usually the first family an electric player learns.

## All shapes

| Symbol | Name | Notes | Frets | Link |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C5 | C power chord | C G | x 3 5 5 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#c-5 |
| C#5 | C# power chord | C# G# | x 4 6 6 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#c-sharp-5 |
| D5 | D power chord | D A | x x 0 2 3 x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#d-5 |
| Eb5 | Eb power chord | Eb Bb | x 6 8 8 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#e-flat-5 |
| E5 | E power chord | E B | 0 2 2 x x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#e-5 |
| F5 | F power chord | F C | 1 3 3 x x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#f-5 |
| F#5 | F# power chord | F# C# | 2 4 4 x x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#f-sharp-5 |
| G5 | G power chord | G D | 3 5 5 x x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#g-5 |
| Ab5 | Ab power chord | Ab Eb | 4 6 6 x x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#a-flat-5 |
| A5 | A power chord | A E | x 0 2 2 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#a-5 |
| Bb5 | Bb power chord | Bb F | x 1 3 3 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#b-flat-5 |
| B5 | B power chord | B F# | x 2 4 4 x x | https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes#b-5 |

## Practice

1. Turn the gain off and play the shape slowly, listening for strings that should be silent. Fix the muting first, because distortion only amplifies mistakes.
2. Slide the root-6 shape from fret 0 to fret 12 and back, naming each chord as you land on it. Twelve power chords, one shape, about twenty seconds.
3. Palm-mute the same shape with all downstrokes at 80 BPM, then 100, then 120. If the muting breaks down before the tempo does, the tempo is already too fast.

## Practical use

These are the first chords most electric players learn, and for good reason: one shape covers every root note, so the entire family is a single hand position plus a count up the low strings.

Canonical page: https://openguitarchords.com/chords/power-chord-shapes