About G5 — triad voicings
G5 is G and D — G with the third taken out altogether.
It sounds blunt, and neither major nor minor. Distortion turns a real third to mud, which is why rock guitar plays this instead of a triad.
Neutral — with no third it commits to no mode.
G5 notes and formula
| G | D |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |
Also written G(no 3rd) or G power chord. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play G5
Three notes on one string set. No seventh, so nothing is claimed about the chord beyond its quality.
Thin on their own, excellent over a bass line or against someone else’s harmony.
G5 has 25 of them, on the bottom three strings, the top three strings, the high-middle three, the top four strings, the low-middle three, the bottom four strings, strings 6-4-3-2, strings 5-3-2-1 and the middle four strings, from the 3rd fret up to the 12th — every inversion the chord has: G in the bass and D in the bass. The one to learn first is the G shape at the 3rd fret, which is the easiest grip here.
4 of them sit on strings 6-4-3-2, so you can run the inversions up one set without changing strings — which is the whole reason to learn them as a family rather than as separate grips.
All 2 common shapes as fret numbers, lowest string first. Hover or tap one to see it drawn.
- 355xxx, 3rd fret, G, root position, top note G, all fretted
- x-10-12-x-x-x, 10th fret, G, root position, top note D, all fretted
How to use G5
In which keys. Every note of G5 belongs to C major (the V), C minor (the v), D major (the IV), D minor (the iv), Eb major (the iii), E minor (the ♭III), F major (the ii), G major (the I), G minor (the i), A minor (the ♭VII), Bb major (the vi) and B minor (the ♭VI).
What to play over G5
Every note of G5 is in G major pentatonic, G minor pentatonic, G blues, G major and G lydian.
Chords near G5
Change one note of G5 and you have G (add the major third), Gm (add the minor third), Gsus2 (add the second), Gsus4 (add the fourth), G/B (add the major third) or G/D (add the major third).
G5 is a suspended chord — root and fifth, with a second or fourth where the third would be — or nothing at all. Suspended and power chords on every root.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.