Fifth Chords
Let’s look at how to play a C5 chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any fifth chord.
What are Fifth Chords?
Fifth chords are technically not chords, since the definition of a “chord” is “three or more notes sounded together”. But we’ll call them chords anyway since they’re treated like chords at the piano.
To play a fifth chord, play the first and fifth notes of the matching major scale.
You can learn how to build a major scale here.
Another way to think of fifth chords is to play the lowest and highest notes of the matching major chord, leaving out the middle note (the third).
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 a C5 Chord on the Piano
To play a C5 chord on the piano, we’ll play the first and fifth notes of the C major scale): C – G. These are also the lowest and highest notes of our C major chord (we’re leaving out the E).
So to play a C5 chord, we’ll play:
C – G
You can use this pattern to build any fifth chord. Just play the first and fifth notes of the matching major scale.
Other Chord Types
Some other chord types you can learn are:
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 play any fifth chord on the piano! Fifth chords can be nice substitutes for major or minor chords when playing creatively at the piano.
The nice thing about fifth chords is they create more of an open-ended sound, which can be useful for creating certain moods at the piano. It’s fun to experiment!
Thank you so much Julie.
Many blessings unto you!
Thank you so much!
You listed 14 other C5 chords. How do we learn end practice these? Thank you.
The other chord types links in this post, such as sixth, seventh, and ninth, will take you to the C versions for those chords. You can also go to this page: https://www.julieswihart.com/learn-piano-chords/ and click on the images for each chord type to learn how to build them. If you’d like to build other fifth chords, you can use the first and fifth notes of the matching major scale to build any other fifth chords. Thank you!
Inspiring, great post
Do you have any youtube videos where you play the piano?
Thank you, I’m glad it’s helpful! I don’t have any instructional videos available yet, just a few videos demonstrating some songs I’ve written, but I hope to add instructional videos down the road.