Power Chords, Barre Chords, or Open Chords

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Luke Martin on August 11, 2009 at 7:30am

I think that that's power chords, is it not?

Permalink Reply by Lorne Speck on August 11, 2009 at 1:31pm

I was taught that the power chords were really just root and dominant notes. So E5 is E and B. When playing a power chord, you would generally play only 2 or three notes instead of strumming all six. One position for E5 is this:
E - 0
A - 7
D - 9
G - x
B - x
E - x

The chord Kevin describes has the notes E A A E G# E which is an Esus4 (play A instead of B).

Permalink Reply by Luke Martin on August 13, 2009 at 10:26pm

Try this: E5
079900
eadgbe

Permalink Reply by Kevin Watkins on August 14, 2009 at 3:03am

yup. 079900 would be E5, but as Paul Baloche describes it, it's part of what he calls the "Open Chord Concept".
You can find a link at his website that explains it all.

Permalink Reply by Travis Strong on October 1, 2009 at 1:53pm

For me and my skills set, the less I have to think about the chords while singing/playing, the better. So I choose the chord structures, with or without capo, with or without barre, that gives me the most freedom to sing without feeling the anxiety of missing a chord.

Recently, I used 6 different forms of "B" in one song, because each form was best for where my fingers (or hand) were on the neck or how fast the chord changes came in the song. If I can find a chord form that allows me little or no hand/finger movement, I'll use it.

Permalink Reply by Mark Little on October 5, 2009 at 1:54am

i really prefere to use barre or power chords. Since its just me playing, sometimes open chords are all i got, but i love playing power chords to change up the sound a little. So it just depends on what sounds better to you.

Permalink Reply by Wayne Pau on October 23, 2009 at 5:12am

Hm..

Well back to the question. I usually have my electric on stage now of these days. But since we're talking acoustics, I did play a set with acoustic guitar a few months back. I played mostly root/open chords.

The reason was that I was looking for certain chord inversions to add color, and I found I had "better" choices using things like D/F# and Em7. For those C songs, I like the G/B, etc. D-Dsus-D2 transitions.

When I play, I sometimes use Power Chords, but less than Barre or Open Chords. Something that I don't think was mentioned yet, with acoustic, sometimes I'll finger pick with an open chord. With the open chord, I usually have more strings to creating a arpeggio pattern with. I like how Open chords ring out more, and often have less muted strings. (I think this was also mentioned by David.)

Power chords seem to really work well in E and A, etc. I find G and C work better as Open chords keys. I have been known to capo just so I can keep the formation/voicing I like (like maybe G-Oasis/Wonderwall fingering) in an odd key like Ab. I like Eb a lot too, and so capo 1 + D usually happens there. Also used a cut capo a while back. That was neat, but made for lazy single finger chords. *haha*

http://www.bos-capos.com/instructions.html

Permalink Reply by Daily Faith Music on November 9, 2009 at 12:26am

I try to keep the guitar work minimalist and let the vocals carry the depth of the message. If I can get away with three note chords 'hidden' behind the vocals I am happiest. Then again there are times when a good strong rhythm is good for lifting the congregation out of their shyness and getting them more involved.

Permalink Reply by Shane Goh on February 23, 2010 at 6:19am

I'm going to sound like a noob here and ask: What's the difference between an Open and a Power chord?

For example: When I play B (x24400) some people comment that it's an open chord and others claim it's a power chord. Is there a certain structure for this?

Anyway, I love chords that sound open and "free". That's how I think worship ought to be, a completely airy and wide open space of sound and adoration to God. So I basically use any chords that sound like that, even if it means using a capo to achieve it =P

Permalink Reply by Jason Buechner on March 12, 2010 at 4:35am

This is what I like to call an "open power chord". Power chords are what you see in electric-driven rock most of the time and consist of only three notes (your root, fifth, and sometimes the octave eighth). This would like like this for your B chord (x244xx). Leaving the top strings open gives it the rich open sound that I love, and it makes it fuller and stronger for carrying the rhythm. An "open chord" would be your conventional chord fingerings for like E and A and C that don't require barring and leave some of your strings open (hence the name). There seems to be a lot of confusion and misuse of the terms here, but a power chord consists of two or three notes only. Open power chords as you've here mentioned are what a lot of the others here have been talking about in Paul Baloche's style of playing in the key of E. I use it constantly, and I love the sound of it.

Permalink Reply by Jason Buechner on March 12, 2010 at 4:46am

Interesting topic. I prefer open chords without any question because of the fuller, more natural sound that rings more freely and longer than in the case of barre chords. I can play barre chords, and my fingers are plenty strong, but I just don't like the traditional sound of them most of the time. I often will take barre chords and convert it into an open chord for certain chords (like F#m: 244200, and Bm7: x2023(2 or 0) Open chords allow for smoother transitions between chords especially in fast rhythms because some of the notes of your first chord are still left ringing as you move your hand to form your new chord. Of course, if you're fast enough and skilled enough, you can make it work with barre chords.

Power chords can be fun for certain riffs in songs (like the walkdown before the verse in Steven Curtis Chapman's "Dive"), and it gives you a spanky blues rock sound that can be very tasteful sometimes. And in very fast rhythms and chord changes, power chords can be a great way to polish the edges and make your transitions a little more fluent and smooth.

Lastly, barre chords just bore me. I don't like taking the same 3 or 4 chord shapes and playing them all over the neck because all of your chords end up sounding the same and lack personality and character. Also it's nice to be able to keep your hand in the same spot on the neck with all your open chords.

I'm sorry for the lengthyness. I love talking about guitar....A LOT!!!!!!!!!! lol

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