B5 B power chord
- Notes
- B F#
- Formula
- 1 5
- Semitones
- 0 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- B(no3)
B to F# is a perfect fifth (7 semitones). Only two notes, the root and the fifth F#, 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, F# below B is a perfect fourth and the chord finder names it F# + B.
B5 on the piano
Root position from B4: B4, F#5. Middle C is C4.
B5 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 B as its lowest note.
x 2 4 4 x x (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 F#3 B3
7 9 9 x x x (low E to high e)
Sounds B2 F#3 B3
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 B5
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 | B F# | B5 | |
| 1st inversion | F# B | F# + B (also read as B5/F#) |
Where B5 fits
A power chord has no third, so it belongs to any key where its root and fifth do and can stand for either B or Bm. 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.