How to Play F5 on Piano

The F Power Chord chord sounds bare and neutral. It stacks 2 notes: F – C.

Root and fifth, no third, so the chord is neither major nor minor. On a piano it is the open shape underneath ostinatos and film cues, and it is the safest thing to hold under a melody whose key you are not sure of.

TagsRockFilm ScoreFirst ChordsBeginner

Notes in F5

NoteIntervalRHLH
FF4RootR15
CC5Perfect 5th551

How to Play

One hand, 2 notes

Right hand, low note to high: fingers 1-5 on F, C. The left hand plays the same shape mirrored, 5-1, usually an octave or two lower.

Where it sits

Every note of this chord is a white key, which makes it one of the easier shapes to find without looking.

Practice F5 in the player

Opens a block chord drill for F5. More drills, from broken chords to inversions, are further down the page.

Practice Exercises

Play each one to hear it, then open it in the practice player, which shows the notes coming toward you and checks what you play on a MIDI keyboard or the on-screen piano.

1

Block Chord

Press all 2 notes (F, C) at the same time. Hold for 4 beats, release, then repeat 8 times. Focus on pressing every key at exactly the same moment with even volume.

Practice block chords
2

Broken Chord (Arpeggio)

Play each note one at a time. Go up, then back down:

F → C → C → F

Keep a steady rhythm. Once comfortable, try speeding up gradually.

Practice the broken chord
3

Inversions and Slash Chords

The same 2 notes rearranged so a different one sits at the bottom. This is the same idea as a slash chord: is simply F5 with in the bass. Learning to move between them is what stops your hand jumping around the keyboard.

InversionWrittenNotesRH
Root positionF5F – C1-5
1st inversionF5/CC – F1-5
Practice the inversions
4

Two-Hand: Bass + Chord

Left hand: play F one octave lower as a single bass note. Right hand: play F, C. Play the bass note first, then the chord, like a simple accompaniment pattern. Repeat until it feels natural.

Practice bass and chord

Chords You Can Play Instead of F5

These share most of their notes with F5, so any of them can stand in for it without breaking the harmony. Swapping one in is the quickest way to make a progression you already know sound different.

Bbsus22 shared
Bb – C – F
two notes in common
Csus42 shared
C – F – G
two notes in common
Dbmaj72 shared
Db – F – Ab – C
two notes in common
Dm72 shared
D – F – A – C
two notes in common
Dm7b52 shared
D – F – Ab – C
two notes in common
Ab62 shared
Ab – C – Eb – F
two notes in common

Keys and Scales for F5

Keys F5 belongs to

Every note of F5 is in each of these keys, and the numeral says the job it does there.

And 6 more, because a chord this plain fits almost anywhere.

Scales to play over it

None of these produce a note that clashes with F5. The ones built on F itself are the ones to learn, because that rule then works in every key.

Power Chord Chords in Every Key

The same shape moved to another root. Once you can hear what a power chord chord does, the work left is finding it under the hand in the other eleven keys.

C5Db5D5Eb5E5F#5G5Ab5A5Bb5B5

Other F Chords

Every other chord in the library built on F: what F5 becomes when a note is added, moved or taken away.

F6
F – A – C – D
F7
F – A – C – Eb
F9
F – A – C – Eb – G
F11
F – C – Eb – G – Bb
F13
F – A – C – Eb – G – D
F6/9
F – A – C – D – G
F
F – A – C
Fm
F – Ab – C
Fmaj7
F – A – C – E
Fm7
F – Ab – C – Eb
Fdim
F – Ab – Cb
Faug
F – A – C#
Fsus2
F – G – C
Fsus4
F – Bb – C
Fdim7
F – Ab – Cb – Ebb
Fm6
F – Ab – C – D
Fadd9
F – A – C – G
Fm7b5
F – Ab – Cb – Eb
FmMaj7
F – Ab – C – E
Fmaj9
F – A – C – E – G
Fm9
F – Ab – C – Eb – G
F7b9
F – A – C – Eb – Gb
F7#9
F – A – C – Eb – G#