Part 3: Hear and measure relationships · Lesson 024 / 117
Add a perfect fifth
Find a stable landmark seven semitones above a reference.
A perfect fifth spans seven semitones and five letter names. From C, that note is G. On one string, count seven fret moves above your C.
You may already know a movable power-chord shape. Its root and fifth can show this interval across strings. For example, low E fret 3 is G and A-string fret 5 is D. The notes G and D form a perfect fifth. A two-note power chord does not contain a third, so these two notes alone do not make it major or minor.
Find the two notes separately before playing them together. The shape becomes more useful when you know which sound is the root and which is the fifth.
The word perfect is the conventional interval-quality name for this family. It does not mean that every phrase should end on a fifth or that another interval is wrong.
Hear it
Fifth
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
C on B-string fret 1 to G on fret 8 is seven semitones. G on low E fret 3 with D on A fret 5 gives the same interval in another register.
Fretboard view
Tap a labelled note to hear it. High E/string 1 is at the top, matching tablature.
Use this as a note map, not a speed test. Once the relationships make sense, play them without looking.
Try it, slowly
- Play C–G on one string.
- Find G and D in the two-string example and name each.
- Alternate C–E and C–G to compare a third with a fifth.
Check one idea
Does a root-and-fifth power chord contain enough notes to tell major from minor?
Show the explanation
No. It lacks the third that distinguishes the basic major and minor triads we will build later.
A good place to stop
You can identify a fifth by its seven-semitone distance and find the reference note inside the familiar shape.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.