Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 8: Power Chords
• Cheat sheet with chords
• Top notes on the 6th string
• Top notes on the 5th string
• Top notes on the 4th string
• Method 2 of 8: Consecutive fifths
• Method 3 of 8: Low D Tuning
• Method 4 of 8: Low C Tuning
• Method 5 of 8: Palm Muting
• Method 6 of 8: Traditional Barre Chords
• Major chords for the tricky
• Method 7 of 8: Simple seventh chords
• Method 8 of 8: EADFAD Minor Scale

To master the basics of playing rhythm guitar, you need to be on the same wavelength as it. There are power chords, other chords, and intervals. Reading this very detailed article will help you master this path.

Steps

Method 1 of 8: Power Chords

1. 1 Know that power chords are the meat of your rhythm guitar playing, and rightly so.
   • Two or three strings are used here, so the sound does not turn into a dirty squeal when distortion is heavily applied.
   • What is important for our purposes, they are very simple to play, easy to learn, and easy to execute.
   • First of all, it sounds pretty fatal. For demonstration, you can loudly shout "rock" and, much cooler, put out a power chord.
2. 2 Remember that power chords are actually not chords at all, but fifths, although there are reasons for such a name. So you better keep silent, in which case.
   • Remember that power chords are neither major nor minor, they are indifferent.
   • This means that you can use the C power chord for both C major and C minor without worrying about the key fret (which usually makes things difficult).
   • Paver chords tend to work very well with anything that goes with them.
3. 3 Remember that there are several different types of power chords. The most basic of these is the good old two-string dyad.
4. 4If the word "dyad" bothers you, just think of a standard power chord.
5. 5 To play one of them, hold down the first frets of the sixth (index finger) and fifth (ring finger) strings.
6. 6 Alternatively, you can play the fourth string instead of the sixth string by holding the fifth string (index finger) and the fourth string (ring finger) on the second frets.
7. 7Crank the gain up to eleven, and the volume up, and chuck one of those dirty things.
8. 8 Welcome to the world of rock.
   • This tab shows a two-string G power chord:
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --5--
     • --3--
   • And here for C:
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --5--
     • --3--
     • --X--
9. 9 If you want a slightly "bigger" sound, you can add an octave. The octave is a thing that real musicians know in more detail about, so we don't really care about this, except that for this we need to additionally take another string with the same ring finger, on the same fret. When you clamp more than one string with one finger, it is called "barre" (oddly enough)
   • Here's a G power chord with an added octave:
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --3--
   • And this is C with an added octave:
     • --X--
     • --X--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --3--
     • --X--
10. 10 Keep in mind that all the mental anguish on the question of when to add an octave, and when not, is worth taking upon yourself. If you want a more massive sound for speed metal or a riff with a strong distortion effect, then don't use it. This will make your sound very muddy. On the other hand, when you need richness in sound, an octave can come in handy. Some people add an octave by ear, making one long chord.
11. 11 Practice hitting a power chord across the entire guitar range. Move between frets while maintaining wild energy. Drink gasoline and howl at the moon if you feel it. Naturally, you really shouldn't drink gasoline. It's just a way of expressing yourself - God!

Cheat sheet with chords

• Here is a little cheat sheet for you to quickly figure out which chord you are playing in a given fret. This is a very useful thing to learn, don't skip it.

Top notes on the 6th string

• Fret / Chord:
  1. F
  2. F # (F sharp)
  3. G
  4. G # (G sharp)
  5. A
  6. Bb (B flat)
  7. B
  8. C
  9. C # (C sharp)
  10. D
  11. Eb (E flat)
  12. open: E

Top notes on the 5th string

• Fret / Chord:
  1. Bb (B flat)
  2. B
  3. C
  4. C # (C sharp)
  5. D
  6. Eb (E flat)
  7. E
  8. F
  9. F # (F sharp)
  10. G
  11. G # (G sharp)
  12. / open: A

Top notes on the 4th string

• Fret / Chord:
  1. Eb (E flat)
  2. E
  3. F
  4. F # (F sharp)
  5. G
  6. G # (G sharp)
  7. A
  8. Bb (B flat)
  9. B
  10. C
  11. C # (C sharp)
  12. / open: D

Method 2 of 8: Consecutive fifths

1. 1 Try "sequential fifths" (this is a different approach). Less often, but still sometimes the power chord is called "successive fifths".
2. 2 Despite the fancy name, I know it's just playing two strings on the same fret. This produces a more "hellish" sound that can be useful from time to time, although some find that standard power chords, especially those without an octave, sound much clearer and generally more effective.
3. 3 Just for fun, try tinkering with successive fifths using the open D and G strings, 3rd and 5th frets.
   • If Smoke on the Water doesn't appear within 30 seconds, add a 6th fret and it will.

Method 3 of 8: Low D Tuning

1. 1 Some guitarists tune their E string down to D, this allows them to play power chords.
   • This is considered a scam by many, but it was used by Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and many other bands famous for their guitar playing.
   • This "lowered D" produces a lower, darker sound that many metal and alternative rock guitarists often prefer.
2. 2 Try it if you like, but don't rely on it entirely.

Method 4 of 8: Low C Tuning

Demoted to C is even harder than demoted to D. Metalcore bands such as Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Fall of Troy, and others use this setting (brutal bands such as Cannibal Corpse and Nile tune another floor tones below!).

1. 1 When lowering to C, you need to twist not only the lower E, but the rest of the strings one note down. End result (thick to thin):
   • CGCFAD
   • As I said earlier, this setting produces much darker music, and the breakdowns are simply amazing.The "Dethklok" tuning is C F Bb Eb G C, which is two whole tones lower (4 frets) from the standard tuning, will darken your music even more while maintaining the spacing of your strings.

Method 5 of 8: Palm Muting

1. 1 Has anyone noticed the endless flow of mash between the two chords of a metal song?
2. 2 This is done by ducking with the palm of the hand, placing the edge of the palm on the strings, in the area of ​​the bridge.
3. 3 Slap the edge of your palm down next to the bridge, and while holding your palm there, grab the low E string several times.
4. 4If you don't get a heavy, muffled sound at the output, experiment with hand placement while the sound is playing.
5. 5 It would be a good idea to use a bridge pickup on an electric guitar to work with this technique. This produces a rougher sound.
6. 6 But if you want deadly tones, then use a neck pickup too, and you will be a mess with a rattling hell sound for muffling with the palm of your hand.
7. 7 Ideal if you are using a guitar with humbuckers for this technique. Make sure your gain and volume are at a sufficient level so that you can make a fairly developed mash.
8. 8 To make it more fun to practice this technique between power chords, turn up the mids on your amp and play the first 4 Metallica albums.

Method 6 of 8: Traditional Barre Chords

1. 1 Some people think that this type of chord is pretty simple, while others are scratching their fingers and have a lot of problems. Your opinion is yours, but I included them because they are quite simple, there is no point in skipping them.
2. 2 To make a major barre chord, hold down all six strings with your index finger at the 3rd fret. Next, place your ring finger on the 5th string at the 5th fret.
3. 3 Play the fourth string with your little finger (on the same second fret). 3rd string 4th fret with middle finger. And the top note of that chord will be on the 6th string, so you can use the 6th string power chord chart to find out which chord you want to play. A G-major barre chord looks like this:
   • --3--
   • --3--
   • --4--
   • --5--
   • --5--
   • --3--
4. 4 To play a minor chord, move this whole awkward construction down one string. All fingers should go down one string, relative to the position for the major barre chord. Don't play the 6th string. The top note is now on the 5th string, so you can now use the diagram below to determine the minor chord you want to play.

Major chords for the tricky

1. 1 Is another barre chord killing you? Don't worry, this is happening to more of us than you think. Some metalheads don't polish their chord playing technique for more than 3 strings, as everyone else will sound very muddy when distorted.
   • This can be a little confusing to listen to, but knowing some of the simple forms of major chords can help you. These chords are basically identical to the power chords, but are played on 4 strings.
2. 2 Purists will urge you to add a sixth, high E when playing major chords on the five strings. It's great if you can afford to play with more complex fingering, but it's still easier to cheat and play without it, it will make the hand position easier and less stressful.
3. 3 To do this, place your index finger on the 4 strings (A, D, G, and B) at the 3rd fret, and the D, G, and B strings with your ring finger at the 5th fret..
4. 4 It's like playing a power chord with the top note on the 5th string, but instead of just adding an octave, you add a 2nd string.
   • Here is the diagram for a C-major chord (X is the string that is not being played):
     • --X--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --3--
     • --X--
   • Such chords are the golden mean between indifferent-sounding power chords and good old six-string barre monsters.
   • They won't turn to mud even at high gain, but they still sound like "real chords."They are great for rhythm parts where you roll back the volume of your guitar to give a vocalist or other guitarist a boost.
   • The only drawback is that some chords (especially those from A down to E) have to be played high enough on the fretboard and this can seem rather odd. Usually, I just do the inversion A, an octave down through E.
5. 5 Unfortunately, there are no "tricks" for minor chords. You will need to play a 4-finger barre with the lower note on the 5th string as above.

Method 7 of 8: Simple seventh chords

1. 1 Here's another 4-string trick that can add a surprisingly interesting (and most importantly light) touch to your style.
2. 2 To play a major seventh chord, grasp the first four strings with your index finger at the 3rd fret, and grasp the first three strings with your ring finger at the 5th fret.
3. 3 Note that the hand position is similar to that of a power chord, so it is played accordingly.
4. 4 The minor seventh chord is even simpler, believe it or not, you just have to grip the first four strings at the 3rd fret with your index finger. So that's it.

Method 8 of 8: EADFAD Minor Scale

1. 1 This alternate guitar tuning is used to make it easier to play minor chords on a six-string guitar. The fingering for playing minor power chords here will be identical to the fingering for major power chords in standard tuning.
2. 2 Pull the G (3rd) string down to F, the B (2nd) string down to A, and the E (1st) string down to D.
3. 3 Now clamp all six strings with your index finger, and the first five with your middle finger, two frets further away.
   • A G-minor chord would look like this:
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --3--
4. 4 You can also play some very nice 4-string major chords, with the same fingering that's even easier than our many-finger barre in standard tuning.
5. 5 Simply place your index finger on the first 4 strings, then place your middle finger on the 3rd string (F) one fret further.
   • This is what a G major chord would look like:
     • --5--
     • --5--
     • --6--
     • --5--
     • --X--
     • --X--
6. 6 You can also add a bass note to this major chord by adding a 5th string (at the 5th fret), it doesn't change the feel of the chord much.
   • Another advantage of playing major chords this way is that the ring finger and pinky are not used.
   • Major chords of this type embellish the music, and they are not often heard in rock, so, to some extent, this is an opportunity to take it to the next level. Or at least blow up someone's eardrums.
   • Note that the tuning of the E, A, and D strings remains the same, so you can still play power chords on the bass strings.
   • This tuning is especially good for these metal songs, in which the beginning is accompanied by a lot of minor chords, and then progress to fifths with a distorted effect.