Chords
Ab Fifth
Ab · Eb
The power chord — root and fifth, no third, so neither major nor minor.
Ab Fifth
Ab · Eb
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | Ab3 · Eb4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
Ab Fifth (Ab5) contains the notes Ab · Eb, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of Ab Fifth puts a chord tone other than Ab in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales Ab Fifth belongs to.
In which keys
Ab Fifth is diatonic to 12 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
Ab Fifth fits inside these scales, each built on Ab.
- Ab Major PentatonicAb · Bb · C · Eb · F
- Ab Minor PentatonicAb · Cb · Db · Eb · Gb
- Ab Major BluesAb · Bb · Cb · C · Eb · F
- Ab MajorAb · Bb · C · Db · Eb · F · G
- Ab MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · Gb
- Ab Melodic MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · G
- Ab Harmonic MinorAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · Fb · G
- Ab DorianAb · Bb · Cb · Db · Eb · F · Gb
Understanding the Ab Fifth chord
Names and symbols
Ab5 is the chord symbol for Ab Fifth.
Ab Fifth and G# Fifth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. G# Fifth
How it is built
On Ab it is Ab · Eb: just 1P · 5P. Omitting the third is the point. With no third the chord has no quality, so it fits over major and minor contexts alike.
How it is used
Distortion multiplies every interval in a chord into sum and difference tones. A third turns to mud under heavy gain; a bare fifth stays clean, which is why rock and metal are built on this shape rather than on full triads.
On guitar it is a two- or three-finger shape that slides unchanged up the neck, since the strings it uses are tuned a fourth apart.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Ab5?
- Ab5 contains Ab · Eb. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- Is a power chord major or minor?
- Neither. It has no third, which is what makes it work over both.
- Why do power chords suit distortion?
- Distortion generates extra tones from every interval present. A perfect fifth produces consonant ones; a third produces clashing ones.
- What notes are in the Ab Fifth chord?
- The Ab Fifth chord contains the notes Ab · Eb: the root Ab with the intervals 1P, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Ab, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the Ab Fifth chord?
- Measured from Ab, the Ab Fifth chord stacks the intervals 1P, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.