Power chord - Definition and Overview

In music, a power chord is an interval which serves the diatonic function of a major or minor chord. It consists of two pitches or three pitches with one doubled at the octave, and thus only two pitch classes. The pitch classes are separated by a perfect fifth or its inversion the perfect fourth.

Power chords are commonly used in various forms of rock music including hard rock, metal, and punk, as the sound of a power chord is not dissonant when distorted, for example by a fuzzbox when played on an electric guitar. It is used less commonly in other types of music but became much more common after the rise in popularity of metal during the 1980s. Examples of power chords with C as the root note are C4-F4, C4-G4, C4-F4-C5, and C4-G4-C5 (where the numbers after each note name signify the octave). Most commonly the three-pitch type of power chord is played.

Since power chords lack a third they are ambiguous as to mode: one cannot assume they are major or minor. However, the musical context often implies or provides a frame of reference for major or minor. For example, in the bVI-bVII-I progression the I chord is implied to be minor by the bVI chord, and other instrumental parts may confirm this during the one chord by playing a minor third, or may contradict this by playing a major.

The first hit song built around power chords was The Kinks's "You Really Got Me" released in 1964 (Walser 1993, p.9):
The_Kinks_You_Really_Got_Me_riff.PNG
The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" guitar riff

Source

• Walser, Robert (1993). Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819562602.

See also

• List of major chord shapes for guitar