Piano Owl
chord

F Fifth

The F fifth chord, known to guitarists as the F power chord, is a fundamental building block in rock, metal, and punk music. Consisting solely of the root note (F) and perfect fifth (C) without any third, this chord produces a neutral, powerful sound that adapts seamlessly to major or minor musical contexts. Power chords like F5 became essential in guitar-driven music because their simple two-note structure maintains clarity and punch under heavy distortion, where traditional chords would become muddy. From hard rock anthems to aggressive metal riffs, the F power chord delivers the raw, energetic tone that defines heavy music. Jimi Hendrix prominently featured F5 in "Purple Haze," where the chord's position at the 1st fret of the low E string allowed for his signature thumb-over-neck technique combined with partial string muting for percussive rhythm. The F5 to G5 progression became a metal staple after Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" (1980) demonstrated how rapidly alternating two-finger power chord shapes could create driving, locomotive rhythms at 160 BPM. Studio engineers discovered that recording F5 through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier with the presence knob at 12 o'clock produces the scooped midrange characteristic of 1990s alternative metal, as heard in bands like Korn and Deftones, often combined with E5 and A5 in heavy progressions.

Symbol
F5
Key
f
Quality
fifth
Number of Notes
2
Notes
F, C

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