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In music, a power chord is an interval which serves the diatonic function of a major or minor chord. It consists of two pitches or three pitches with one doubled at the octave, and thus only two pitch classes. The pitch classes are separated by a perfect fifth or its inversion the perfect fourth.

Power chords are commonly used in various forms of rock music including hard rock, metal, and punk, as the sound of a power chord is not dissonant when distortedIn telecommunication and signal processing, the term distortion has the following meanings: #In a system or device, any departure of the output signal waveform from that which should result from the input signal waveform's being operated on by the system', for example by a fuzzboxA fuzzbox is a type of stomp box comprising an amplifier and a clipping circuit, which generates a deliberately distorted version of the input signal. As opposed to other distortion guitar effect pedals, a fuzzbox boosts and clips the signal sufficiently when played on an electric guitarAn electric guitar is a type of guitar with a solid or semi-solid body that utilizes electromagnetic " pickups" to convert the vibration of the steel-cored strings into electrical current. The current may be electrically altered to achieve various tonal e. It is used less commonly in other types of music but became much more common after the rise in popularity of metal during the 1980s. Examples of power chords with C as the root note are C4-F4, C4-G4, C4-F4-C5, and C4-G4-C5 (where the numbers after each note name signify the octave). Most commonly the three-pitch type of power chord is played.

Since power chords lack a thirdFor the musical definitions of third see the following intervals: Major third Minor third The mediant, and the chord built on the mediant, is often called simply the third as it is the third degree of the diatonic scale. See also Ladder of thirds. Third' they are ambiguous as to modeThis article is about mode, the musical concept. For other meanings of mode, see Mode. Modes In music, a mode is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic define the pitches. However, mode is usually applied only to the sp: one cannot assume they are major or minor. However, the musical context often implies or provides a frame of reference for majorFor non-military meanings, see major (disambiguation). In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a lieutenant colonel. The equivalent rank in the US Navy is Lieute or minorThe term minor (from Latin "smaller, lesser") has several meanings: Minor is a legal term for a young person, see Minor (law). Hence a younger brother or sister in British public school slang. The opposite is Major. In academia, a minor is a secondary foc. For example, in the bVI-bVII-I progression the I chord is implied to be minor by the bVI chord, and other instrumental parts may confirm this during the one chord by playing a minor third, or may contradict this by playing a major.

The first hit song built around power chords was The KinksThe Kinks a British Invasion pop/ rock band, were formed in London in 1963 by Dave Davies and Peter Quaife. The lineup with which they began their recording career was Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting); his brother Ray Davies (primary songwri's " You Really Got Me" released in 1964 (Walser 1993, p.9):