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Powerchords
1 F5 The and Kinks G5 make – Youreallygotme up the intro riff in this breakthrough hit from the Davies brothers.
2 Nirvana – Smellsliketeenspirit
Tricky position shifts make Cobain’s era-defining mega-hit a good ‘next step’ for beginners.
3 Black Sabbath – Ironman
Of course the inventors of heavy metal used powerchords. In this case, exclusively...
4 Green Day – Americanidiot
Like Teenspirit, the speed and position shifts make this a challenger. Just practise slowly!
5 The Cars – Justwhatineeded
After the intro, you’ll hear dry palm-muted powerchords backing up the vocal in the verse.
6 U2 – Vertigo
He may be better known for his delay FX riffs, but this is a badass powerchord riff from The Edge.
7 Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak
The chords are easy enough, but the palm-muting and offbeat rhythms make this a good workout.
8 Dio – Holydiver
This is a slow “gallop” style powerchord riff.
9 Ramones – Blitzkriegbop
Nearly everything the New York punks played was based on powerchords or barre chord shapes.
10 Megadeth – Symphonyofdestruction There’s a short melodic phrase in the mix here, but the two powerchords are F5 and E5.