Chord Shapes

Power Chord

Intervals: 1-5 (often with added octave). The power chord is a dyad, not a full triad, because it omits the 3rd and therefore has no explicit major or minor quality. Its clean, interval-of-a-5th structure makes it ideal for high-gain electric guitar: distortion emphasises the 5th and octave without producing clashing upper partials. In rock, punk and metal it is used as a flexible harmonic skeleton – progressions can be heard as major or minor depending on the melody and bass. In a jazz context, pure 5th chords are rarer but can appear in modal rock-influenced tunes and as simplified shapes in pedagogical settings.