Chords
A# Fifth
A# · E#
The power chord — root and fifth, no third, so neither major nor minor.
A# Fifth
A# · E#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A#3 · E#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A# Fifth (A#5) contains the notes A# · E#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of A# Fifth puts a chord tone other than A# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales A# Fifth belongs to.
In which keys
A# Fifth is diatonic to 12 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
A# Fifth fits inside these scales, each built on A#.
- A# Minor PentatonicA# · C# · D# · E# · G#
- A# Minor BluesA# · C# · D# · E · E# · G#
- A# MinorA# · B# · C# · D# · E# · F# · G#
- A# PhrygianA# · B · C# · D# · E# · F# · G#
- A# EgyptianA# · B# · D# · E# · G#
- A# Vietnamese 1A# · C# · D# · E# · F#
- A# PelogA# · B · C# · E# · F#
- A# KumoijoshiA# · B · D# · E# · F#
Understanding the A# Fifth chord
Names and symbols
A#5 is the chord symbol for A# Fifth.
A# Fifth and Bb Fifth are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Bb Fifth
How it is built
On A# it is A# · E#: 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 A#5?
- A#5 contains A# · E#. 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 A# Fifth chord?
- The A# Fifth chord contains the notes A# · E#: the root A# 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 A#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A# Fifth chord?
- Measured from A#, the A# 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.