Ab5 Ab power chord
- Notes
- Ab Eb
- Formula
- 1 5
- Semitones
- 0 7 above the root
- Also written
- G#5 (G# D#)
- Other symbols
- Ab(no3)
Ab to Eb is a perfect fifth (7 semitones). Only two notes, the root and the fifth Eb, seven semitones apart. With no third it is neither major nor minor. On guitar the root is usually doubled an octave up, as in the shapes below. Turned upside down, Eb below Ab is a perfect fourth and the chord finder names it Eb + Ab.
Ab5 on the piano
Root position from Ab4: Ab4, Eb5. Middle C is C4.
Ab5 on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has Ab as its lowest note.
4 6 6 x x x (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab2 Eb3 Ab3
x 11 13 13 x x (low E to high e)
Sounds Ab3 Eb4 Ab4
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play power chords on other roots.
Inversions of Ab5
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | Ab Eb | Ab5 | |
| 1st inversion | Eb Ab | Eb + Ab (also read as Ab5/Eb) |
Where Ab5 fits
A power chord has no third, so it belongs to any key where its root and fifth do and can stand for either Ab or Abm. That ambiguity, and the fact that a bare fifth stays clear under heavy distortion where a third would turn muddy, is why rock and metal riffs are built from power chords.