You’ve been playing punk guitar all wrong...

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Learn more about me, my productions and all the tools you’ll ever need to craft your own world-class punk & emo songs:
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LINKS:
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🎼TABS: sugarpilltabs.blogspot.com
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REFERRAL LINKS:
(Equipment I Use For My Videos)
My Go-To Mastering Engineers:
www.sageaudio.com
Get That Mark Hoppus Bass Tone:
bit.ly/3yoTfhG
I Use This On Every Master:
bit.ly/3F3QFBE
How I Separate Tracks From Songs:
www.lalal.ai/?fp_ref=aaron14
DAW:
imp.i114863.net/yRVekD
Interface:
imp.i114863.net/do69VQ
My Go-To Analogue EQ’s:
imp.i114863.net/mgQXED
The Best Digital EQ:
imp.i114863.net/qnPEmO
My Favourite Bus Compressors:
imp.i114863.net/Ea4zJn
My Favourite General Use Compressors:
imp.i114863.net/do69ky
Get That Analogue Sound:
imp.i114863.net/2r4QyG
Drums For Modern Pop Punk:
imp.i114863.net/QOkN4Y
Drums For Everything Else:
imp.i114863.net/LP9x4a
How I Enhance My Drums:
imp.i114863.net/7mYGnO
Make Your Videos Look Pretty:
amzn.to/3NaJ8DM
The Only Camera You’ll Need For KZbin Videos:
amzn.to/3DaFiGl
The Best Headphones For Mixing:
imp.i114863.net/yR0LG2
Best Bass For Punk:
imp.i114863.net/rn5zOB
The Key To A Killer Bass Tone:
imp.i114863.net/GjL0GB
My Go-To Guitar Strings:
imp.i114863.net/9WKMnQ
The Best All-Round Guitar:
imp.i114863.net/GjL0OB
This Mic Works On EVERYTHING:
imp.i114863.net/gb3Aq0
This Preamp Is Amazing:
imp.i114863.net/6b4Pn3
A Great MIDI Keyboard:
imp.i114863.net/NKjQ2N
The Secret To Blink 182's Sound:
imp.i114863.net/jWqnge
Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links where I'll earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Shopping through these links is a great way to support the channel so I can keep making videos for you all to enjoy. Thanks!
#sugarpillproductions

[@SugarpillProd]

Learn more about me, my productions and all the tools you’ll ever need to craft your own world-class punk & emo songs: www.sugarpillproductions.com/

[@HardlyRamone]

I love a good anti-misinformation video. This was short, to the point, well made, and goddamn right. Nicely done

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks so much!

[@iliketrains3495]

I like how at the beginning 'A Punk' is listed among the punk-themed videos

[@SugarpillProd]

I get the same thing with Daft Punk too, haha.

[@hockeyman84c]

@iliketrains3495 Love the profile pic 🤘

[@thecinephiliac4034]

B-Punk however belongs yet is absent. Why do that? Why stars so far away? Is stars shy? Does stars odor?

[@funsimulator7246]

Inverted power chords, octaves, drone notes, dissonance, diminished/aug chords is where its at! I love that you mention Heart Attack Man, they are a huge inspiration to me. ❤

[@SugarpillProd]

Couldn't agree more!

[@swissarmyknight4306]

I'm not exactly punk, more shoegaze, ambient, and stoner metal, but the harmonic vocabulary is shared. Increasing the level of harmonic complexity is neither good nor bad, just different sounds. They all mix; they can all be inverted and voiced different ways. Level 1: Power Chords and octaves, with all their inversions. Anything from two note Sabbath power chords to 5-6 note voicings on one guitar, can go bigger with more guitars. Level 2: Dyads (two part harmony), try major and minor thirds, fourths and fifths you saw in Level 1, major and minor sevenths also sound good and are very useful. Doubles very well with matching triads and seventh chords. Level 3: Triads. Three part harmony, spelled root+3+5. Barre versions work well, especially if there's only 1 guitar, but other versions work really well as a layer with 2 guitars, try different voicings. Level 4: Sus chords. Sus 2 is spelled root+5+9 usually. Sus 4 is spelled root+4+5 or root+5+11. As with triads, barres and other versions work well. Level 5: 7th chords. 4 part harmony, spelled root+3+5+7. As with triads, barres and other versions work well. These are more complex sounding, but can work really well. Level6: add9 chords. 4 part harmony, spelled root+3+5+9. Its a triad with an extra note for decoration. As with triads, barres and other versions work well. Level 7: 9th chords. 5 part harmony, spelled root+3+5+7+9. Getting complex, but with a smooth sound. The 7th is the difference between a 9th and an add9. Level 8: 7sus4. 5 part harmony, spelled root+3+4+5+7. Level 9+: 11th and 13th chords, other wild stuff. Did you know you can add any pitch to a pre-existing chord? Anyone trying to solo over it will either love or hate you.

[@KLBoringBand]

I like power chords as a layer a lot. If you put a power chord with a heavy tone on one pan and a higher voicing of the full chord on the other pan, you sound big.

[@SugarpillProd]

Definitely! The different voicings are really the key to making them sound more interesting.

[@paisleepunk]

i feel like a really easy solution to this is to just fret a bit "sloppier" (fretting the third string to make a power chord a sus4 is good, actually)

[@Blinkerd00d]

Harmony and rhythm are the most important things in playing punk well.

[@Thirteen31Music]

Powerchords are the chord equivalent of being stuck in shape 1 of the pentatonic scale. They’re great and have their place but there are so many other options out there and learning just a few will really expand your horizons making you sound and play better almost instantly. Theory is off putting to many but just learning the major scale and how to construct chords will serve you so well. All of the techniques discussed in this video can be understood and used in your own playing just from learning those 2 things.

[@SugarpillProd]

That's a great comparison. They're similar in the way that everyone get's taught the basic cowboy chords when first starting out. I guess power chords are the punk rock equivalent to that, haha.

[@Thirteen31Music]

​@@SugarpillProd This was actually blocker for me for years. When I learnt how to construct chords from scales and how to find different fingerings it was a game changer. I'm not really a great player now but I can come up with more interesting ideas and leads etc now. Using different voicing also trains your ear to recognise things beyond root and 5th which makes figuring stuff out by ear so much easier.

[@swissarmyknight4306]

@@Thirteen31Music If you want to combine advanced harmony with power chords, they work well when evoking tonal ambiguity and modulating to different keys, because power chords are neither major nor minor. An E power chord can stand in for E major and E minor simultaneously. Nirvana "Lithium" is a perfect example. The E power chords glue the riff together as it modulates back and forth between E minor and E major every few bars. (Beato explanation: I know Cobain didn't know this in theory terms, but his ear knew it, and I know it, and now you know it, and can use it as you see fit)

[@jeffoenami3023]

I love the riffs of rise against because of theyre simpleness, for example prayer of the refuge.. just octaves

[@mike_tkgchs]

Perfectly on point as always and so damn true, there's always something more going on under the main chords...

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[@MikeBishop]

Really enjoying the videos with narration now, good stuff! On the subject of this video, I once had a friend refer to Propagandhi's TETA as "All that power chord shite", he couldn't have been more wrong.

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks! Prop is definitely one of the worst bands you could level that accusation at 😂

[@diydylana3151]

Cool things you showed there! I liked how you had examples. You always bring up so many details of production and playing nobody else does that I learn about. I think the problem is that those peoples perception of punk is made by like, the classic punk sounds when there started to be a more codified typical sound to it, but like a sort of "prototypical" version of it, forgetting that bands were more than just that. So they focus on the parts that really make it sound punk..but without the parts that make a band or song sound unique? So like itd be like going to a ska song and focusing on teaching people the ska off beat, some typical fundamental horns and basslines that allows the song to isntantly be recognized as ska, but barely talking about the nuances or things that can make a song stand out. Like it talks about the ground but not what people build with the ground, if that makes sense? Plus like, punk has branched out to so many sounds and I don't think they really take that into account? Most of the bands in this vid are what I consider to be part of the "melodic punk/hc" umbrella. Pop punk, melodic hc, 90s and on skate punk, etc. They're likelier to use different chords and harmonies and stuff. But so do the various metal hybrids not standard in hardcore (metalcore, grind, crust, sludge, especially emocrust and neocrust), and various bands in the post-hardcore umbrella. Plus early on both art/post punk was also just called punk, and a lot of anarcho punk had elements of it. But those just don't seem to be as recognized..

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks, I appreciate that! I agree with you too. And it's funny that even the proto bands or very early punk bands had a lot more going on in their songs, that I think just gets dismissed because everyone assumes it's "just three chords", or because of the rudimentary sound of those early records.

[@aaronfriesen7557]

Love it!

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks!

[@sidvicious332]

Dude kudos on the Blitzkreig Bop chords. I've been playing music over 20 years and heard that song over 500 times and never heard how much impact those extra notes made. This video was silly insightful.

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks! I think stuff like that is really easy to miss because it's such a classic song you'd assume all the lessons out there of people teaching it the same way are correct, so you'd never actually think to double check, haha.

[@LAKESICK]

Love the Heart Attack Man reference, they rip!!!

[@SugarpillProd]

They do indeed!

[@Precision_Productions]

There are so many terrible video guides floating around. It's so nice to see someone who is actually accurate in their guides, and who focuses upon the subtleties of musical arrangements. Especially with regard to multiple overdubbed guitar tracks which are often completely overlooked among "popular" KZbinrs like "Marty", whose guides are often completely wrong and teach horrible playing habits. Many thanks to SugarpillProductions for bucking this trend and actually getting it right! This is why I recommend you on my own KZbin page.

[@SugarpillProd]

Thanks, I appreciate that! I can understand why that happens with channels like that, but it does unfortunately lead to a lot of misinformation out there. I guess when you're teaching tons of different genres, it's hard to really take a deep-dive into each one.

[@aetreum3825]

Good vid

[@chrismaghintay]

I fully agree with this video! I know very simple power chordy punk songs DO exist but I tend not to listen to those. Do you know of any bands that are actually basic power chord bands? I'm curious

[@SugarpillProd]

Haha I was trying to think of some while I was making the video and it's actually hard to think of any that purely use power chords and nothing else. Even bands that people always say "only use 3 chords" like Green Day have a lot more going on underneath, when you actually break things down. Maybe some throwback bands who are purposely trying to keep things super rudimentary, like The Chats, but even then I haven't analysed their music enough to say that with any degree of confidence, haha.

[@carljohnsrude6527]

I could very likely be wrong but I am very interested in this question so figured I’d chime in (mind you, I am a novice). Don’t early Sum 41 and Blink-182 use pretty much exclusively power chords? Referring to the Half Hour of Power, All Killer No Filler, and Does This Look Infected? era for Sum and the Buddha, Cheshire Cat, and Dude Ranch era for Blink. This doesn’t answer the original question of which bands exclusively used power chords since these bands grew to expand their chordal selections throughout their careers, but I still think it’s interesting :D

[@SugarpillProd]

Can't speak on Sum 41 as I don't listen to them very often, but those early blink records definitely have a lot more going on than people think. I did make a video previously about the chords in Dammit that everyone get's wrong. I'd kind of assume Sum 41 would have more going on too, as they're both pretty accomplished guitarists.

[@aaronvicente5028]

*YES*

[@SugarpillProd]

🙏

[@g3ng4rb0i3]

Jimmy eat world is always top tier

[@SugarpillProd]

100%

[@MRizzolli]

Thanks

[@SugarpillProd]

👍

[@roymastin104]

Regrats from Colombia 🇨🇴

[@SugarpillProd]

❤

[@Anson120]

I always called them "power hook chords". Mr.Cobain did them all the time.

[@stevencavin]

Are you familiar with Slick Shoes and their album "Burnout?" I love the sound on that album 🤙

[@SugarpillProd]

I am! I've always liked that mini subgenre of more technical punk / pop punk like them and Rufio.

[@SomeGuy-on3dt]

All the small details by blink182? 3:42

[@jasonhawkins6888]

It's funny how guitarists on KZbin love to misidentify punk as "simple" and that if you know a power chord and just downstroke, you're playing punk. Then they proceed to show you how by playing a Ramones song (which, for some reason, they think represents 50 years of a genre) and sound like garbage. Good video, cheers!

[@SugarpillProd]

And then proceed to play that "simple" Ramones song wrong too 😂 Cheers, thanks for watching!

[@fewicharlie]

LC!

[@franek_3742]

whats the song that is playing in the background from 1:09?

[@SugarpillProd]

It's just a thing I wrote for one of my previous videos. I basically use it as a "score" now, haha.

[@franek_3742]

@@SugarpillProdsounds amazing, kinda sonic youth-esque

[@handel1111]

how to make OG Emo song or Emoviolence

[@3xtan327]

At the drive in use more complex chords than even some prog bands.

[@kintaro_f]

more Jimmy Eat World deep dive! 🤘🙂

[@SugarpillProd]

Might do in the future!

[@jjerkamillo]

poor bastard is probably making great points, just can't comprehend anything he's saying 😂

[@SugarpillProd]

Fair 🤣

[@thecinephiliac4034]

Different Flavor British Guy or Just Too Many Drug? by Leon Toystory Did all the chemicals I put into my body finally take their toll on my brain or is this British guy a different flavor of British guy that I am used to hearing here. Is the other voice even British or is this British guy combined with the dextromethorphan over indulgence causing me to retcon the other guy into being a different British when he wasn't British at all? Is British real? I know Daggerfall is real and that Daggerfall was once as big as the British place but I think the Irvine Welsh people or the drunkard people (shout out to the drunkard so for being known as the drunkards when Russian literally evolved differently for drinking so much booze) decided British place wasn't the cool kids table no more and started their own British place with cocaine a strippers? Are you even still reading this? If so I tip a cow to you good or at least chaotic good sir. I'd offer you a reward but all I have is an abundance of dextromethorphann and that's mine! The man in hat made of shadows said I don't have to share so go find your own. FIN-2187

[@SugarpillProd]

WTF is this unhinged shit? 😂

[@thecinephiliac4034]

@@SugarpillProd Art is how I prefer to describe it. Though some may call it nonsense but I say there is a fine line between the two.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

You’ve been playing punk guitar all wrong... ...which is the key to playing punk guitar.

[@SamBrockmann]

Only the most boring Punk plays strictly power chords.