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Power Chord Fingering
I’ve been struggling with getting my fat fingers to spread from the 5th-7th fret to play the “Louie Louie” power chord and I keep getting the dreaded string buzz. I’ve been in the program for 5 weeks and most of the time stick with a lesson for a couple of days trying to get the cords to sound right like in the Cord Transition lesson. My transitions aren’t perfect and I’m slow as molasses so I’m wondering if I should move on to the next lesson of continue to try to make them sound better? Love some advice. Thank you
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12 Replies
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Keep working at it. Do your warm-ups first before you start playing every day. If you need advice on warm up, Tony has some great ideas in his skill courses and in his 5 day routines. The stretches are particularly important before starting to play. I do mine each and every day before i pick up the guitar.
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Thanks for the advice. I didn’t even know about The Daily Stretch. I’m going to get on them starting tomorrow. Thank again for the help
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I would say move on. There are going to be A LOT of things you aren’t going to be able to do at this point. Instead of getting frustrated trying to do something you are not ready for, move on. Progress over perfection is the mantra. It took me 5 months to comfortably have the stretch for power chords.
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Thanks for the encouragement. I’m not getting frustrated even when I’m sucking at a new challenge. I am really enjoying this journey. I turn 64 this summer and as an ex-drummer I decided this year I was going to learn the guitar. Thanks again for the help.
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I turn 64 this summer as well!
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Happy Birthday to us!
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by RoyinSC.
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This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by
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I turned 64 in February
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It will be my turn in November
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Mine is November too so yay all the birthdays this year for 64 woo hoo!!
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Power cords can actually be a really really good tool for certain songs more along the rock genre, but acoustically too. I prefer the two finger power cords versus a three finger. Which is what i# taught by Tony only because it’s easier with my hands and fingers and how small they’ are; much smaller than Tony’s ha ha?
To practice spreading your fingers I was taught to start on the high E, which is called the first string, and go up to say the 7th fret or even further down, such as the 8th or 9th fret. Plant your pinky and keep it on that fret, and then take your ring finger and place it on the fret next to it, lift up your ring finger spread it to the next fret and so on, all the time keeping your pinky down do it. Don’t overdo it, because you can actually hurt yourself. I did that once by stretching and straining to play a Chor that really required acrobatics to play it. I pulled tendons in my arm and stop immediately and ice and rest your hand. I went to an acupuncturist and a to take several months without playing. Never pla6 through pain. , and I was out of commission for months then put down your ring finger on the same thread that your pinky had just been on and do your pinky down the starting you know let’s say you’re on the seventh fret with your ring finger do the pinky on the eighth done the ninth if you can stretch it to the tent and then go back and keeping your ring finger there on the seventh do your middle finger on the U fret lift it up do it on the fifth fret, and just try to get it to stretch as much as possible teach threat and then do the middle finger down and do the same thing with the ring in the pinky going you know down the fretboard and then go back and do your index finger moving up you know on the sixth and the fifth if you can’t the fourth and keep doing it and you’re stretching the width of your fingers and then what’s gonna happen as they will get more flexible then you will be able to move further up the neck and stretch it a little bit more doing the same process on a fifth fret you know when that eventually on the third. Just keep at it. You’ll be surprised one day to realize that your finger stretched so much further than you ever thought possible I still have difficult times with certain cords and there are ways to modify them to where you can still play them but possibly not with all the single notes in that cord or there’s another fret that you can make the same cord on that’s different. You’ll learn that just as you move through your guitar journey.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you’re doing.
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Happy Birthday to us old guys
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and thank you for the help
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