| | | Hey Friend,
Did you realize you can flip-flop the notes of power chords around to get a different sound?
Like regular chords, there are power chord inversions.
We've been rocking along using power chords in the standard fingering and shape, but it doesn't have to be that way all the time. If you find yourself in a situation where the inverted power chord makes more sense, have at it!
Now at this point, you might be scratching your head asking "Inversion? What the heck is an inversion?"
Well, either you're new (welcome to the family) or you haven't been paying attention!
Inversions are the various voicings of a chord. Wait, what? Voicings?
Alright, check it. A voicing is just an alternate fingering and/or location for a chord. You are using the same notes for the chord, but in a different note order or in a different location on the neck. So the pitch might be higher or lower on the guitar neck.
The whole idea of chord voicings is to have a variety of sounds available to you. This way you don't have to use the same chord fingering every time, even when you are using the same chord. Having a variety of ways to play a chord keeps you creative and from sounding boring.
Okay, I can see where that might not make a whole lot of sense yet. Let me break it down...
A traditional chord is made up of three or more notes. You can play a chord in any configuration of those three notes and it is the same chord. However, you can change the sound of the chord by switching up the note order in the chord. This is what gives you different voicings.
The actual chord shapes created by rearranging the notes are what the different inversions are.
If you play a C major chord in the open position, the note order when strummed is C, E and G. This is a root inversion (the C note is the tonic, or root, of the key and scale). You're using the tonic, the major third and the perfect fifth intervals from the C major scale.
NOTES C, D, E, F, G, A, B = INTERVALS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
(It's a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea.)
If you play a C major barre chord in the third position (barring the strings at the third fret with the fifth string as the root), the note order is G, C, E, making it a second inversion. This is because the fifth note from the key (the G note) is in the root position for the chord.
Don't let the C note on the fifth string confuse you - it is just a doubled note in the chord, even though it's the first string you would strum. It helps to remember that a normal chord (triad) has three notes and in most cases you would use the grouping of notes on three consecutive strings.
To round out the concept, a first inversion has the note order 3, 5, 1. Our C major chord example would be E, G, C in the chord. Make sense?
Power chord inversions are simpler still. Only two notes, right?
If we were using our E5 power chord for an example here, the root inversion is E and B (the 1 and 5 notes). So to 'invert' that chord, you'd just switch the note order to play B and E, in that order.
On the neck, you could play the the root inversion E5 power chord at the seventh fret, fifth string E note and the ninth fret of the fourth string for the B note.
To play the inversion of this chord with a note order of B and E, just barre the sixth and fifth strings at the seventh fret.
Easy peasy!
Slide that little configuration down two frets and now you're playing a D5 inversion (notes A and D).
And you're not limited to just the sixth and fifth strings. You can play these power chord inversions in other places, too. For example, an E5 power chord can be played on the fourth and third strings at the ninth fret. Or on the open second and first strings (B and E). And there are more locations. See, all sorts of options!
You can experiment to see which inversion works better in whatever you're playing.
Even though power chords are simple, they still give you a lot of options to make your playing more interesting and dynamic. If you want to learn more about power chords, I go into lots more detail in Easy Power Chords. Like over two hundred different neck locations and chord shapes in every key.
Get your copy of Easy Power Chords today.
Peace~
Dave
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