C#5 C# power chord
- Notes
- C# G#
- Formula
- 1 5
- Semitones
- 0 7 above the root
- Also written
- Db5 (Db Ab)
- 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 Ab + Db (also written G# + Db).
C#5 on the piano
Root position from C#4: C#4, G#4. Middle C is C4.
C#5 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 4 6 6 x x (low E to high e)
Sounds C#3 G#3 C#4
9 11 11 x x x (low E to high e)
Sounds C#3 G#3 C#4
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 C#5
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# | C#5 | |
| 1st inversion | G# C# | Ab + Db (also written G# + Db) |
Where C#5 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 C#m. 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.