The C fifth chord, commonly known as the C power chord, is a foundational element in rock, metal, and punk music. Unlike traditional major or minor chords, power chords consist of only two notes—the root (C) and the perfect fifth (G)—omitting the third entirely. This creates a neutral, aggressive sound that works equally well over major or minor progressions, making it incredibly versatile in heavy music contexts. Power chords are especially prevalent in guitar-driven music where distortion amplifies their thick, powerful tone without the muddiness that thirds can introduce. Link Wray's revolutionary 1958 track "Rumble" pioneered the use of distorted power chords in rock music, influencing generations of guitarists and establishing the raw, aggressive sound that defines heavy guitar music. Acoustically, the perfect fifth interval (frequency ratio 3:2) produces strong harmonic overtones that reinforce each other when amplified through tube amplifiers, explaining why power chords sound fuller than their two-note structure suggests. In drop D tuning, C5 shifts to the 10th fret on the low E string, becoming a single-finger barre chord favored in modern metalcore and djent for rapid chord changes alongside D5, F5, and G5 progressions.
Scale degrees of each note in the C Fifth chord.
| Note | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | Tonic |
| G | 5 | Dominant |
Intervals from the root note of the C Fifth chord.
| Notes | Semitones | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| C → C | 0 | Perfect Unison (P1) |
| C → G | 7 | Perfect 5th (P5) |
Explore chords that share the same key as the C Fifth chord.