Power Chords Explained: Neither Major, Nor Minor, Nor Technically a Chord

The short answer: A power chord (written G5, A5, etc.) is just two notes: the root and the perfect fifth, usually with the root doubled an octave up. There's no third — and since the third is the note that decides major or minor, a power chord is neither. That ambiguity is a feature, not a bug.

The shape

Root on the low E string, fifth two frets up on the A string, octave root right below it. Here's G5:

The same shape starting on the A string works identically (root on A, fifth and octave on the D and G strings). And that's it. One movable grip, no open-string variations to memorize, no major and minor versions — because there's no third to change.

Why "5"?

Chord names describe what's in them. G means G major (root, 3rd, 5th). Gm swaps the major third for a minor third. G5 says: root and 5th, nothing else. Strictly speaking, two distinct notes make an interval, not a chord — pedants call power chords "dyads" — but nobody at rehearsal says "hit that dyad."

Why they sound huge with distortion

Distortion multiplies the frequencies you feed it, creating new tones that pile up on top (the harmonic series in action). Feed it a sweet-sounding major third and those generated tones clash into mud. Feed it a root and fifth — the most consonant interval there is — and the byproducts all reinforce each other. That's why a distorted E5 sounds like a building falling over, and a distorted E major chord sounds like a mistake. Punk, grunge, and metal aren't avoiding thirds out of laziness; the physics genuinely prefers it.

There's a bonus: with no third, the power chord borrows its mood from context. Play E5 while the bassist implies E minor, it sounds minor. Same grip under a major melody sounds major. One shape, every flavor.

The real skill is the root note

Here's the part that separates players who know power chords from players who hunt for them: the shape is trivial, so the entire skill is knowing the root notes on the E and A strings. If you know fret 3 on the low E is G, you know G5. If you have to count up from the open string, every chord change becomes arithmetic at tempo.

This is the fastest payoff fretboard memorization ever gives you: learn just two strings' worth of notes and you can play every power chord — which means every AC/DC, Nirvana, and Green Day song — on demand.