Fifth Chords
Let’s look at how to play an A5 (A fifth) chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any fifth chord.
What Are Fifth Chords?
Fifth chords only have two notes, so they’re not technically chords since chords have three or more notes. But we’ll call them chords anyway since they behave like chords.
Fifth chords are built using the first and fifth notes of the matching major scale.
You can learn how to build a major scale here.
Another way to build a fifth chord is to find the matching major or minor chord, and leave out the middle note.
Chord Types Printable
Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).
How to Play an A5 Chord
To play an A5 chord on the piano, we’ll play the first and fifth notes of the A major scale: A – E.
These are also the lowest and highest notes of the A major and A minor chords.
So to play an A5 chord, we’ll play:
A – E
You can use this pattern to build any fifth chord. Just play the first and fifth notes of the matching major scale. Or find the matching major or minor chord and leave out the middle note.
Other Chord Types
There are many other chord types you can learn. Here are some others:
Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Minor Second
Suspended
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Major Ninth
Conclusion
Now you know how to build fifth chords!
These chords can sometimes interchange with major and minor chords, since they omit the middle note. They have an open sound, which works nicely for creative playing.
They also interchange nicely with suspended chords, so if you really want to have fun, try playing an A major chord, then alternating between A5, Asus2 and Asus4, resolving back to A major. The piano starts to come alive!
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