C Power Chord Chord

Symbol: C5

Diagrams

Staff Notation

Staff Notation

Piano Keyboard

C5 chord – keys C, G highlightedPiano keyboard with keys C, G highlighted. C is the root note.CG
C5 chord – keys C, G highlightedPiano keyboard with keys C, G highlighted. C is the root note.CG

Guitar (1)

Guitar chord diagram for C5 (8fr)Guitar chord voicing with notes C, G, C.C5 (8fr)834✕✕✕

Guitar (2)

Guitar chord diagram for C5 (3fr)Guitar chord voicing with notes C, G, C.C5 (3fr)3✕34✕✕

Intervals

NoteIntervalSemitones
CP10
GP57

Related Chords (C Root)

C Cm Cdim Caug Csus2 Csus4 C7 Cmaj7 Cm7 CmMaj7 Cdim7 Cm7b5

Power Chord in All Keys

C5 Db5 D5 Eb5 E5 F5 F#5 G5 Ab5 A5 Bb5 B5

Scales Containing C5

C Major C Natural Minor C Harmonic Minor C Melodic Minor C Major Pentatonic C Minor Pentatonic C Blues C Ionian C Dorian C Phrygian C Lydian C Mixolydian

About the C Power Chord Chord

The C Power Chord chord is built from the notes C, G. These notes are derived by stacking intervals above the root note C, following the interval pattern that defines every Power Chord chord. Understanding how a chord is constructed from intervals is one of the most valuable skills in music theory, because it allows you to build the chord in any key and recognize it in any context.

You can use this chord in a variety of musical contexts. Try exploring the scales that contain these notes to discover which keys this chord naturally belongs to. Each scale listed above shares all the notes of this chord, making it a diatonic chord within that key. Understanding these relationships helps with songwriting, improvisation, and arranging.

Try C5 in the Chord Identifier →