Power chord

A power chord leaves out the third, the note that makes a chord major or minor, and keeps only the root and the fifth. It is written with a 5: C5 means C and G, often played C G C with the root doubled on top. The two notes are a perfect fifth apart, seven semitones, one of the most stable intervals in music.

Power chords in C major

C major is C E G. Drop the E and you have C5. The rest of the key shrinks the same way, with one exception: D5 is D and A, F5 is F and C, G5 is G and D, A5 is A and E. With the third gone, Am and A major both become the same A5, so one A5 fits a song in A major or A minor.

The exception is the chord on B. B and F are only six semitones apart, so a true B5 needs F#, a note from outside the key.

Flip the two notes so G sits below C and the gap becomes a perfect fourth, five semitones. Guitarists call this an inverted power chord. It is the power chord’s inversion, and it still has no third.

Why guitarists use power chords

Distortion adds harmonics to every note, and when two notes go through it together it also creates new tones from the gap between them. A fifth sits very close to a simple 3:2 frequency ratio, so those new tones line up with the chord’s own harmonics, one of them an octave below the root, and the sound gets heavier while staying clear. Thirds make more complex ratios, and in a distorted full chord the extra tones pile up into mud. That is why power chords run through so much rock, punk and metal.

It is also one of the easiest shapes on guitar. Put your first finger on the root on the low E string and your ring finger two frets higher on the A string: 3rd fret and 5th fret gives G5 (G and D). Slide that shape up or down the neck to play a power chord on any root. 6 Easiest Instruments to Play Chords explains why it is a beginner’s shortcut, and What Notes Sound Good Together? covers why fifths blend so well.

In Gelato Synth, the Power option on the Chords mode chord-type row turns every pad into a power chord at once.