Why You'll Enjoy Learning Power Chords In Your Guitar Lessons
Beginning in your very first guitar lesson, you can expect your instructor to introduce you to a handful of common chords. Chords are the foundation for playing the guitar, and you'll use them as long as you play your instrument. While your guitar teacher will likely start with what is known as open chords, they may soon introduce power chords to your lessons. By definition, a power chord is a chord in which you play the root note and the fifth note in one fluid motion. Here are some reasons that you'll enjoy learning power chords during your guitar lessons.
They're Relatively Easy To Finger
Novice guitar players will quickly realize that some chords are easy to finger and others are more challenging. Generally, power chords will fit into the former category. While there are lots of different ways to play power chords, it's common to use just two fingers. Conversely, many open chords require the use of more fingers; sometimes, you'll need to use all four of your fingers to form a chord. As a beginner, power chords will unquestionably be easier to finger, and this can be encouraging. Just a short time after your teacher introduces you to a handful of power chords, you'll likely be able to play them with ease.
They're Common In Many Genres
If you're learning how to play the guitar, it's almost certain that you enjoy listing to guitar music. Being able to play some of the songs that you enjoy will likely be one of your goals. In order to achieve this goal, there's a good chance that you'll need to know some power chords. While power chords aren't a fixture in every single genre of music, they're certainly common in many genres. Rock and heavy metal music, in particular, make frequent use of power chords, typically to form a song's rhythm.
They're Often Movable
Another thing that you'll appreciate about learning power chords is that they often use finger shapes that you can move up and down the neck. For example, a common shape involves placing your index finger on any given fret and then placing your ring finger on the adjacent higher string, two frets higher. Your teacher may show you how to use this finger placement with your index finger on the first fret of the first string, for example, but you can slide the position to different frets and different strings. This means that you'll be able to quickly change from one power chord to another.
Learn more about power chords in a guitar lesson.
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