To play A5 on the piano, you need the notes A, E. On piano it is played from the keys A, E, root position first, then in inversions. This guide covers the power chord chord in full: what is in it, how to play it cleanly on the piano, where it fits musically and how to practise it.
What notes are in the A5 chord?
The A5 chord is a power chord chord, and its notes are fixed: A, E. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root A, so you can see the structure of A5 at a glance. On the piano, play the keys A, E slowly and listen for each note of A5 in turn.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| A | Root |
| E | 5 |
The root is A, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in A5 are 5. Learn those intervals rather than memorising the shape alone, because the same interval pattern transposed to another root gives you the same quality of chord anywhere. On the piano, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
A5 sounds raw and driving, the sound of rock and metal rhythm guitar. Listen for that character when you play it — if A5 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the piano, play the keys A, E slowly and listen for each note of A5 in turn.
Comparing A5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, power chord against a full triad: A5 has only A, E — root and 5th. Add the 3rd C# and it becomes major; add C and it becomes minor. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the piano, A5 is the keys A, E, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
How to play A5 on piano
On the piano, A5 is played from the keys A, E. In root position the lowest note is A, the root, with the other notes stacked above it in the order A, E. Play it with the right hand first, then with the left hand an octave lower, so both hands know the shape of A5 before you try it in a progression.
First inversion of A5 puts E in the bass, with the notes in the order E, A. The chord is still A5 — the notes have not changed, only their order — but the bass note changes how it connects to the chord before and after it. Use this inversion when the bass line wants to step to E rather than jump to A, and practise moving from root position to this inversion without lifting your hand off the keys more than you must.
For fingering, a good starting point for A5 in root position in the right hand is thumb on A, then one finger per note in order, with the little finger on the top note E. For the left hand, mirror it: little finger on the low A and thumb on the top note. When a note is a black key — none of the notes in this chord are black keys — let your longer fingers take it, since they reach the black keys more easily. Practise A5 in root position and first inversion, hands separately, then together, at a slow tempo, and use the Piano Chord Finder to check the voicing on the keyboard.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make A5 sound wrong on the piano, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Playing every inversion with the same hand shape. Each inversion of A5 needs its own hand shape, because the notes sit under different fingers. If you force the root-position fingering onto an inversion, the hand cramps and notes get missed. Learn the fingering for each inversion of A5 separately, hands apart, before you join them. On the piano, the root-position keys A, E show A5 most clearly.
Adding a 3rd by accident. A stray finger on the 3rd can turn a power chord into a triad, which sounds muddy through distortion. Mute the strings that should not sound. On the piano, the root-position keys A, E show A5 most clearly.
Letting open strings ring. Open strings that are not part of the chord blur the sound. Mute them with the edge of your fretting hand. On the piano, play the keys A, E slowly and listen for each note of A5 in turn.
Playing it too slowly. Power chords are about rhythm and movement. Practise changing them on the beat, not between beats. On the piano, the root-position keys A, E show A5 most clearly.
Where A5 is used
A5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of D major, the key of E major, the key of A major. a neutral chord that works over major or minor, since it contains no 3rd. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward D major, the key a perfect fourth above A, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where A5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the piano, play the keys A, E slowly and listen for each note of A5 in turn.
Because A5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain A triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try A5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the piano, play the keys A, E slowly and listen for each note of A5 in turn.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in A5 on guitar, A5 on ukulele, A5 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the A major scale and the A minor pentatonic scale. Learning A5 on the piano and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — A, E — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising A5
A short worked example makes A5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression D – A – Bm – G in D major, the key A5 most often resolves toward: D – A – Bm – G. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how A5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on A5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the piano, A5 is the keys A, E, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
For a second exercise, play A5 and then the chord a fourth above A, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move A5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing A5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: A, E. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the piano, A5 is the keys A, E, and the inversions above move the same notes around.
Frequently asked questions
Is A5 major or minor?
Neither. A5 contains only A, E — the root and the perfect 5th — so it has no 3rd to make it major or minor. That is why it works over both. On the piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
Why do rock guitarists use A5?
Through distortion, full triads sound muddy because the overtones clash. A power chord has only two notes, so it stays clear and punchy even with heavy distortion. On the piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
What notes are in A5?
Just two: A, E. The root A and the perfect 5th E. Some voicings add the root an octave higher, but the chord itself is only those two pitch classes. On the piano, check the root-position keys above for that note.
How do you play A5 on the piano?
In root position, play the keys A, E, with A as the lowest note. That is the basic shape of A5 on the piano. The inversions above put a different note in the bass, and the Chord Inverter shows every inversion of A5 on the keyboard.
What is the first inversion of A5?
The first inversion of A5 puts E in the bass, with the notes in the order E, A. The chord is still A5 — only the bass note has changed — and it is the inversion to use when the bass line steps to E.