Alternatively, they can sound amazing when they are used for playing chord progressions and riffs high up on the bass.įor examples of minor and major -5 chords in bass lines, check out these songs: With that said, these chords do work well when they are used intermittently at low or mid ranges. Thus, these chords can sound muddier than the power chords when played on the bass. Despite only consisting of 2 notes, the minor third and the major third interval are harder to distinguish than the perfect fifth. However, be careful about strumming -5 chords too deep on the bass. Similar to power chords and inverted power chords, Major and minor -5 chords are well suited for being strummed on the bass guitar. These types of chords are less commonly found in bass lines than power chords but do still see a decent bit of use. We can however opt to play just the C and the E, choosing to omit the G. The last example of a 2 note chord comes in the form of major and minor chords with an omitted fifth.įor example, a C Major chord would consist of a C, E, and a G. This is a less common and less applicable way to use this voicing.įor examples of songs that have made use of inverted power chords, check out the following: In this case, the deepest note would be considered the root, and the note above it would be considered the perfect fourth. Thus, throwing an inverted power chord or two into the mix is a quick way to make it more interesting.Īlternatively, the inverted power chord could be treated as a Sus4 chord. A chord progression on the bass consisting solely of power chords can sound quite stale. Inverted power chords work well in chord progressions and as part of riffs. On its own, it can sound somewhat plain, but when listening to it in a chord progression it has a warm and dark character to it. This gives the power chord a different tonal character. The letter behind the “/” indicates what the lowest note of the chord is. The letter before the “/” is the name of the chord. However, the perfect fifth of the chord is played below the root note instead of above it. This chord consists of the same notes as a power chord.

Bass power chords can also be played as a full-out chord progression commonly done by Mark Hoppus in Blink-182.įor some examples of how power chords have been used by various bass players, check out these songs:Ī less common, but equally basic bass chord is the inverted power chord. They can also be used as part of a bass riff, which is common in Les Claypool`s bass lines in Primus. I like to use them for adding a bit of punch to songs during a chorus or crescendo.

In particular, you will find them fairly commonly used in rock and punk. This is due to the low interval limit, which makes other chords harder to distinguish at lower pitches than the simplistic power chord.Īs a result, power chords are by far the most commonly strummed chord by bass players. At the same, power chords are great for making a bass sound like a guitar and adding punch and aggression to a song when they are strummed.įurthermore, while bass chords sound muddy at lower registers, power chords can be played deeper than most other chords. This gives the chord a harmonious and inoffensive character. Sometimes variations of the chord include a high octave as well. This is because power chords generally only consist of a root note and a perfect fifth. While these are technically called dyads, I will refer to them as chords in this article, as will most musicians in the real world.īass power chords are one of the most commonly played chords among 4-string players. It has however become commonplace to call harmonies with only 2 notes a chord as well. You will also learn about the different ways bassists play chords, what chords sound best when strummed, and what chords sound better arpeggiated.Īs a result, you will learn how to use bass chords in the right situations in order to make your bass lines sound more interesting and unique.Ĭhords vs Dyads: Historically, 3 different pitches was required for a chord to be called a chord. Thus, by reading you will avoid the same mistakes I did when starting out. Therefore, I`ve made this list of easy bass chords that bassists of all skill levels can make use of. This was because they usually sounded muddy, and did more harm than good to my sound.Īfter playing the bass for 15 years, I`ve learned a thing or two about chords though. I quickly learned though, that strumming even the most basic of bass chords wasn`t as easy as I thought. This was mostly because I had seen Geddy Lee do it a couple of times and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. When I first started out with the bass guitar, I was looking to strum bass chords from day one.

Easy bass tabs