238658923659

Chapter 4: Getting a Grip on Left-Hand Chords
69
A power chord is used for distortion because it doesn’t have a lot of notes
that can sound noisy when subjected to the extreme overdrive treatment of a
lot of rock effects. However, power chords are useful in blues because they
have a versatile, open sound that lacks the interval that defines whether a
chord is major or minor (also called a third).
Figure 4-12 shows the two forms — the E form and the A form — of the threenote
power chord (consisting of the root, fifth, and octave root but no third).
Figure 4-12:
The E- and
A-form
power
chords.
133 133
For distorted, rock-based blues, use power chords and not full five- or sixstring
barre chords. Distortion emphasizes the higher harmonics of a chord,
and major and minor thirds — and other intervals other than the root and
the fifth — tend to make the sound noisy and muddy.
TEAM LinG