5th chords

The so called 5th chords (aka "power chords") aren't really chords in that there are only two notes in them. They're actually just intervals.

They leave the third out which is the note that gives the chord its major (using the third of the scale) or minor (using the flatted third of the scale) feel.

Popularized by rockers turned up to 11 and distorted like mad. I seem to remember that the third would sometimes sound a little off at high volume/distortion levels so they just pitched it.

That said, they sound nice in certain instances. I use C5 quite a bit in Don't Get Around Much Anymore. There's probably other places I use them but it's late and my brain is doing its world-famous bowl of oatmeal impression.
 
Yeah, I use 5th chords a lot when playing strummy, folky stuff. It makes the chord more "open" in a lot of cases. Two of my faves:

C5: 0033

G5: 0235


Now for rock, power chord type stuff (think "Smoke on the Water", "Paranoid", etc.), you would often (but not always) just play two strings. On the uke, the third and fourth strings make a 5th, so you can do this sort of thing:

C5: 00xx
D5: 22xx
E5: 44xx

For other chords, to keep from playing too high, you can invert the root and fifth (making a fourth), like so:


G5: 02xx or x23x
A5: 24xx or x45x


JJ
 
Thanks guys as normal this goes over my head but his time it hit me in the forehead first...
I'm startin to understand... I think...

Kinda funny today I was lookin at some newsstand music mags and the answer was in the feb issue of In Tune Magazine about "Arpeggios and altered Chords".

So if I got this right, I take the chord and look at the fretboard map find the notes that make it up then go to a circle of 5ths and take away the 5th?
 
So if I got this right, I take the chord and look at the fretboard map find the notes that make it up then go to a circle of 5ths and take away the 5th?

Uh, say you want D5. That means you need to play two notes: the D itself and the next note on the circle of fifths, so A. etc.

But also, often when you see 5 "chords" in songs, and you don't need that special rock effect, you can just play a full chord. So as not to get too involved, just use your ear to tell if a major or minor chord fits better.
 
Keep the 5th.

Take away the 3rd.

JJ

My bad thats what I ment to type..

The song is Jacks "Bubble Toes" and I was playin it with just the standard chord shapes and the first few bars didn't sound "right". It's amazing how different the sound is.

Hence the quest to learn more.....

As always JJ and the rest you are what Makes UU great!!!!!
 
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