Power Chords & Rock Strumming
A power chord has just two notes and one shape that carries a whole song — it's the easiest “chord” in rock to pick up, and you can strum it with plenty of drive on an acoustic too.
You're on lesson 4 / 9 in this stage
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- Funk Rhythm: Getting Started9 min
- The 12-Bar Blues9 min
- Getting Started with Improvisation9 min
- Power Chords & Rock Strumming8 min
- Rhythm Deep Dive: Syncopation · Triplets · Swing9 min
- Improvising, Next Level: Guide Tones & the ii–V–I Connection9 min
- Universal Pop Formulas & Strum Patterns9 min
- Reggae & Ska: The Off-Beat Chop8 min
- Bending: Making a Note “Sing”9 min
Power chords: just the root + the 5th
Power chords are written with a “5,” like E5 or A5; they take only the root and the perfect 5th of the chord (often plus the root an octave up), with no 3rd. Because there's no 3rd, they're neither major nor minor — they don't care about the key and sound “neutral” against any melody, which is why rock and punk lean on them so heavily under distortion.
One shape, all over the fretboard
A power chord is a “movable shape”: the root is on the 6th or 5th string, with the index finger on the root and the ring finger on the next string up, two frets higher (that's the 5th). The shape doesn't change — slide the whole thing to any fret and that's the power chord for that note, the same “sliding” idea as a barre chord.
The open-position E5 and A5 are the easiest to get under your fingers — find that “thick, punchy” wall-of-sound on those first.
- 💡 An acoustic has no distortion, but with palm-muted strumming and some choked hits, power chords can still drive out a punchy rock groove.
How to use them
Take a progression you'd normally play with open chords and strum the matching power chords instead; add the right-hand palm muting from Stage 5 and it's instantly rock. To change chords, just slide the same shape.
Chords in this lesson
Tap the 🔊 under each diagram to match every chord's sound to its shape.
⏱️ Cycle this lesson's chords to a beatPractice switching without stopping (one-minute changes) — first learn each chord by ear and shape, then drill clean changes between them.Expand Collapse
Switch back and forth between this lesson's chords to the beat below.
One bar of count-in first, then the chord changes automatically each bar. Get it smooth slowly, then speed up bit by bit.
Want to count how many changes you can do in 60 seconds? Head to the one-minute changes drill.
Practice this with famous songs
We don't host sheets for these songs (copyright); only the “what to practice” direction — find the sheets yourself:
- “Creep” — a rock classic on a four-chord loop; the power-chord + muting version feels great
Practice checklist
- Fret E5 and A5 and feel the solid thickness of “just two notes.”
- Slide the power-chord shape around and strum a stretch of palm-muted 8th-note rhythm.