Power Chords I had heard the term "Power Chords" for several years. But it wasn't until I attended a rhythm mandolin workshop with Niles Hokkanen that he was able to make the power chord concept clear to me. As you will remember, the blues are a mix of major sounds superimposed with minor sounds. When a soloist wants to use a blues scale in a tune, there is a clash if the rhythm instruments are playing major triads (chords that include the third note of the scale) between the third note and the flatted third note of the blues scale. The same holds true of the seventh note and the flat seven note of the blues scale. To avoid this clash, a rhythm player might play a chord that has no third note in it (just the first and fifth notes). This is called a Power Chord. It is an example of the old art adage of "less is more." By reducing our chords from a four- or three-note structure to two notes, we get a stronger sound, because the fist and fifth notes are a strong combination, and we give the player playing the lead the creative freedom to choose scales to build a lead from instead of confining him/her to just a major scale. This concept is similar to the tenth chords that swing players play on the guitar to accompany dance bands (Freddy Green) or swing ensembles (Django Rheinhardt's Hot Club Quintette of Paris). There the guitarist plays three note chords instead of the usual five or six string chords. The result is often more exciting than playing the fancy barre chords, and it's a lot easier on the fingers too. To play power chords on the mandolin, you can use the following fingerings: To play an A Power Chord, use: or: ----- The lowest note is the root note of the chord. Move the shapes around the neck and over to the next set of strings to get all the different keys. To play in G, you would need to play: ----- But that wouldn't work because there is no way to dampen the open notes to make a percussive effect. You could play G here: ----- An alternative to that would be to use an inversion (remember those?): ----- Again move this shape around the neck and over a set of strings for all the different keys. The root note is the higher-pitched note. If you are dead set on playing chords of more than two strings, play either (for A): -0--- or: -5--- or: ----- The two-note chords are just easier to play, and you will be able to keep up with quick chord changes like in "Big Mon" (to be discussed later). Now is the time to dig out all those Sam Bush CDs and start studying how he plays those sexy percussive drum lick sounding rhythms. Use the power chord shapes to make the notes. Shak your head, and move back and forth from the waist. Slide into and out of those notes. Now!! You're getting it. Study Chris Thile's backup as well, especially the later things he has recorded. He has a great percussive POP. Put your head down over your instrument and try to get into his trance-like state as he plays. You will definitely turn some heads at your next jam session. P.S.: All this stuff works on music other than blues, but you knew that. Mike Perry |
