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 E♭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 1 and 4. Don't play strings 6, 5 and 1.
D♯ · A♯
Try D♯5 on the virtual piano
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D♯5 chord notes
Also known as E♭5
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | D♯(D#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | A♯(A#) |
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♯ (D# and A# 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 1 and 4. Don't play strings 6, 5 and 1.
- What is another name for the D♯5 chord?
- D♯5 is enharmonically equivalent to E♭5. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.