D♭5 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The D♭5 chord is a power chord built on the root note D♭. Its notes are D♭ and A♭. It's enharmonically the same chord as C♯5.
Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- Notes
- D♭ · A♭
- Formula
- 1 · 5
- Semitones
- 0 · 7
- Note
- D♭
- Quality
- Power Chord (5)
- Symbol
- D♭5
D♭5 on piano
2 notes
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play D♭5 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on D♭ and little finger on A♭. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard every note of D♭5 is a black key. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- D♭1
- A♭5
D♭5 on guitar
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, D♭5 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 4 and 6. Don't play strings 6, 2 and 1.
D♭ · A♭
Play D♭5 on the online piano
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D♭5 chord notes
Also known as C♯5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♭(Db) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♭(Ab) |
How to use the D♭5 chord
The D♭5 chord is built from a root and a perfect fifth. Start at the root D♭ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: D♭ and A♭. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Power chords drive punk, metal, grunge and hard rock, played on the low strings with distortion. Guitarists move a single shape up and down the neck, which is why riffs built from them transpose so easily.
How D♭5 differs from similar chords
D♭5 holds only the root and the fifth, so unlike D♭ or D♭m it has no third to decide its colour. With two notes it is the smallest chord in the library, often doubled with the root an octave up. The same D♭5 shape therefore fits major and minor songs alike.
Where D♭5 is used
No progression is shown for a power chord
D♭5 has no third, so it carries no major or minor function and cannot take a Roman numeral. Any progression printed here would belong to a different chord.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the D♭5 chord?
- The D♭5 chord contains D♭ and A♭ (Db and Ab in plain text).
- Is the D♭5 chord major or minor?
- D♭5 is a power chord. Power chords have no third at all, only a root and a fifth, so they are neither major nor minor. That emptiness is the point: run one through a distorted amp and it stays clean and thick where a full triad would turn to mud.
- How do you play D♭5 on piano?
- Place your fingers on D♭ and A♭ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard every note of D♭5 is a black key. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play D♭5 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 4 and 6. Don't play strings 6, 2 and 1.
- What is another name for the D♭5 chord?
- D♭5 is enharmonically equivalent to C♯5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.