# Power Chords - Two Fingers or Three?



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

When you play power chords, do you fret two notes or three?


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

I guess there's 2 ways to interpret the question - do you play 2 notes or 3, or if you play 3, do you use 2 fingers or 3. I see a lot of players using the index to bar the root and the ring finger to bar the next 2 strings, so 2 fingers for 3 notes. I always use 3 fingers for power chords since it's easier to transition to other shapes, and because I was drilled as a beginner to do a good 4-finger F-barre shape so I just re-use that. Unfortunately I was never able to translate that same logic for the D chord which I mostly do with 2 fingers, unless I need to change to a minor shape right after .


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Depends.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

Budda said:


> Depends.


This!


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Bass - 2 notes 2 fingers. Adding the octave note on bass makes it too heavy

Guitar - sometimes 2/2, sometimes 3/2, sometimes 3/3


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## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

With thicker distortion, two fingers is ok. With less distortion, I think it sounds fatter to play the higher octave too. For example, for an A power chord:

E|-----------
B|-----------
G|-----------
D|--------7--
A|-----7-----
E|--5--------


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Hate to nitpick but your thread title and your poll are asking two different questions.

I generally play three note power chords…with 2 fingers. There are occasions where I play two note power chords, usually palm muted.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Yeah I can't change it.

I can play a full bar chord with two fingers but how would you play a power cord? How would you mute the top strings?


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

1 finger when using drop tunings.

Sometimes no fingers when playing "Unchained". 😆


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

It occurs to me that I used to almost play with power chords exclusively, now I hardly use them even with distortion. I have been experimenting with 3 or 4 notes of a full cord. Time to incorporate both?


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Guncho said:


> Yeah I can't change it.
> 
> I can play a full bar chord with two fingers but how would you play a power cord? How would you mute the top strings?


I’m not sure if you mean thinner strings or thicker strings when you say top strings.

It takes very little to mute the fat e string with the tip of your index finger.

If I’m trying to mute the thinner strings, I find that the area between my last knuckle and the tipof my finger can cover two (sometimes three) strings and by bending the joint backwards a little, decreasing the pressure on 3/4 of my finger, closest to the palm let’s me strum away recklessly with all but two or three strings naturally muted with my fretting hand.

When I’m playing an open A chord I tend to just barre it with my index finger. I have varying degrees of success NOT muting the open thin E string by hyper extending the last knuckle a bit, but generally I just mute the thin E. I’ve been trying to be able to switch between the open A and an open A sus2 by hyper extending the knuckle while barring the A with my index finger. Limited success but I find jamming my three fingers into an open A….tedious. I generally only do the three finger jam if I absolutely MUST get the A to A sus2 back and forth thing.

Be warned, most of what may be interpreted as my own personal style or way of doing things is actually ingrained piss poor technique which I’ve refined a little and cleaned up to make sound decent.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

JBFairthorne said:


> I’m not sure if you mean thinner strings or thicker strings when you say top strings.
> 
> It takes very little to mute the fat e string with the tip of your index finger.
> 
> ...


Are we talking about the same thing?

When I say power chord I mean strumming all six strings but you only hear:
E
Three finger
x799xx

Two Finger
x79xxx

I don't know how you would play the three finger version with two fingers. I can't without the b string sounding.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

I play a lot of 3 note power chords with my second and third fingers.

But to simplify the question back to its basics, it is typically 3 note.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Guncho said:


> Are we talking about the same thing?
> 
> When I say power chord I mean strumming all six strings but you only hear:
> E
> ...


First of all I always considered a smaller, two or three note chord (without the 3rd or flat 3rd) to be a power chord, regardless of whether I’m hitting all 6 strings or just the 2 or 3 that I’m sounding…but yeah we’re talking about the same thing.

In that three note E you mentioned, the x799xx, I’ve seen guys three finger them, I’ve also seen guys use index and barre the pinky. I use index and third finger and I’ve never given much thought to the fact that I can sound the 99 with my index but mute the b and high E strings by lifting the 2/3 of my finger just slightly. My example on the open A was just a side thought where I do something similar with my index finger.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Open D.

One.


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

Root/fifth or root/fifth plus octave of root? Technically, the octave should add "power", but root/fifth can work better for dense chugga-chugga rock and heavier styles.

It all depends on the guitar tone (clean/distorted) and the overall band "mix" for whatever you are playing. The appropriate choice either fills in or leaves space... These choice(s) may be chord by chord, or verse/chorus etc.
-----
Surprised nobody mentioned thumb, finger yet...


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

hjcjxghhgcdhgh said:


> I guess there's 2 ways to interpret the question - do you play 2 notes or 3, or if you play 3, do you use 2 fingers or 3. I see a lot of players using the index to bar the root and the ring finger to bar the next 2 strings, so 2 fingers for 3 notes.


I think we've been over this.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Guncho said:


> I think we've been over this.


Yeah but now you can get the steroids to help with the POWER!


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Mostly I use three fingers & three strings--but then open strings, going to other chords before or after the power chords, and sometimes doing a double stop with the 5th & octave (Or a backwards fifth) Like with Smoke on the Water orotehr stuff like that.
Sometimes it sounds better without the octave--sometimes it sounds better with the 5th & the root.
Sometimes with roots, 5th & octave.


And I do like power chords.
Those who have heard me play for any period of time know that--and it gets commented on.
(I do play open chords, full barre chords, and the Hendrix chord, etc. But something about a power chord draws me in.)


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## Mutant_Guitar (Oct 24, 2021)

the relationship of any tone to another is bi-directional. With a root+fifth relationship you are simultaneously getting the fifth and the fourth, so the two shapes are substitutes for each other.

So, as zontar said, sometimes it's nice to play the 5th as a 4th because it supports the root from the opposite direction.

Sometimes it's nice to play the root as flat 2 or natural 2, or a raised 2/flat 3. Against that 5th they all have a sweetness to the ear.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Context, it always depends on context, including octave(s) and number of notes, voicing, muscle memory, what precedes or succeeds, strings used, etc.

E5 for example:


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## NationalDuo (3 mo ago)

AlwYs used 2 fingers


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