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• Minor
  Guitar chord diagrams and chord theory. This is the Chord Section of Olav Torvund's Guitar Site.
  Modified: Jan 8 2008
• Minor
  Guitar chord diagrams and chord theory. This is the Chord Section of Olav Torvund's Guitar Site.
  Modified: Jan 8 2008
• 6
  Guitar chord diagrams and chord theory. This is the Chord Section of Olav Torvund's Guitar Site.
  Modified: Jan 4 2008
• Sonic shapes
  Guitar chord diagrams and chord theory. This is the Chord Section of Olav Torvund's Guitar Site.
  Modified: Jan 4 2008
• Major
  Guitar chord diagrams and chord theory. This is the Chord Section of Olav Torvund's Guitar Site.
  Modified: Jan 4 2008

Previous page:	E5	Next page:
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E5

Find chord shapes

C5

C#5/Db5

D5

D#5/Eb5

E5

F5

F#5/Gb5

G5

G#5/Ab5

A5

Bb5

B5

The power chords have not third. The E5 chord has only the notes E and B. It is only the root and the fifth, and strictly speaking it is an inrval, maybye doubled in octaves, but no proper chord. It is often used in hard rock and heavy metal. The third does not sound on a very distorted guitar, which is on – but not the only – reason to use power chords. At the other end of the spectrum, you can hear the same chord giving a more fragile harmonic basis for folk music of various kind. The droning sound of a Scottish bagpipe is a "power chord", but it does not give us associations to hard rock. The more you double the notes, the more you move from power to airy, fragile harmonies.

I have included inverted chords. As the 5chord really is an interval and not a chord, you should look at inverted intervals rather than inverted chords. I suggest that you go to The Perfect Fifth and The Perfect Fourth for this. The inverted 5-chords could also be called 4-chord if you choose the 5th of the 5-chord as root. E5 have the same notes as B4.

Open positions
You will probably recoginze this as the Em chord shape. It is the same fingering. But you do not play the third string (G). The G is the minor third in the Em chord, and the character of the E5 is created because there is no third. It is not "wrong" to play the open 3rd string, but then it is no longer an E5 chord

Closed three-note positions
			7 fr		2 fr		9 fr

Closed three-note positions inverted 5th chords
	7 fr				9 fr		4 fr

Closed four-note positions
	7 fr		2 fr		9 fr

Barré or quasi-barré positions These barré positions require left-hand damping and/or long streches, and are not easy to play. But they are not impossible. For power chords you will usually not use barré chords. That is why I have put them at the end.
	12 fr		12 fr		7 fr		9 fr

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