Power Chords Are Neither Major Nor Minor: Here's Why

On a power chords sheet, you'll never see "major" or "minor" written next to a chord like E5 or A5 — and that's not an oversight. A power chord is neither. Here's why, and how it actually shows up in the catalog.

What's missing from a power chord

A regular major or minor chord has three notes: the root, the third, and the fifth. The third is what decides everything — a major third (four half-steps above the root) for a major chord, a minor third (three half-steps) for a minor one. A power chord only has the root and the fifth: two notes, not three. The third — the one that would decide major or minor — simply isn't there.

Why that's not a problem

Without a third, a power chord can't be labelled major or minor at all: it's neutral, ambiguous. That's actually an advantage for guitarists writing music: by leaving out the note that would lock in the choice, a power chord stays usable in both major and minor contexts, without ever sounding "wrong" in either.

The same chord in two very different sheets

That's exactly what shows up in the catalog: the E5 chord is the foundation of both Metal in E — power chords, getting started and Stepped climb power riff — E, filed under rock. Two sheets, two styles, two completely different progressions — and yet the very first chord under your fingers is exactly the same. It's not the chord that decides the mood: it's everything around it.

Practice it

To feel that ambiguity for yourself, play Metal in E — power chords, getting started, then go straight into Stepped climb power riff — E: same starting chord, two pieces that otherwise have nothing in common.