C5 C power chord
- Notes
- C G
- Formula
- 1 5
- Semitones
- 0 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- C(no3)
C to G is a perfect fifth (7 semitones). Only two notes, the root and the fifth G, 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, G below C is a perfect fourth and the chord finder names it G + C.
C5 on the piano
Root position from C4: C4, G4. Middle C is C4.
C5 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 C as its lowest note.
x 3 5 5 x x (low E to high e)
Sounds C3 G3 C4
8 10 10 x x x (low E to high e)
Sounds C3 G3 C4
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 C5
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 | C G | C5 | |
| 1st inversion | G C | G + C (also read as C5/G) |
Where C5 fits
A power chord has no third, so it belongs to any key where its root and fifth do and can stand for either C or Cm. 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.