Power Chords

[Acid]

JUST PICKED UP Easy Blues Guitar Lesson BAsic Rhythm BL005

Ok with it up until playing the
B power chord!!!

It seems impossible to reach the 6th Fret with my pinkie! Chuck Berry must have enormous hands– and Brian! Anyone out there got an alternative way of doing this – that sound ok and is easier! Havn’t explored the second half of the lesson yet.

Thanks

Acid – from down under

[sunjamr]

Aha! You need a parlor guitar. Mine is a Taylor Baby guitar. Washburn makes a good one also. They have shorter frets, easy for people with short fingers (like me) to reach. Many highly skilled acoustic blues players love parlor guitars for that reason.

Sunjamr Steve

[Acid]

Mmmmm That is something I need to seriously consider. Many thanks for your input-I suppose I could always consider surgery- bit extreme but!
Acid

[Aussie Rick]

A couple of suggestions Acid. Have you tried shifting the thumb a little higher up the neck (towards guitar body) and tucking the elbow in closer to the side. This seems to reposition the hand a little and extend the reach of the pinkie.

There is also the alternative of playing the 1 1V V progression higher up the neck where the frets are closer together. You can play the root (E) of the 1 chord at the 5th string 7th fret, the root (A) of the 1V chord at the 6th string 5th fret, and the root (B) of the V chord at 6th string 7th fret. Hope this is of some help.

Rick

[charjo]

@acid, try sliding the thumb vertically down and pushing the wrist forward. This will allow you to get more reach with the little finger. If you watch, carefully, you’ll see that Brian does this.
John

[San Luis Rey]

Had the same problem and thought these seemed impossible. Don’t give up. Try the techniques mentioned and experiment on your own. It will get easier.
Mike

Mike

[Author]

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