C guitar chord: 5 ways to play C major

Ways to play C

Open position first, then up the neck. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.

What's in C

A major chord stacks a major 3rd (four half steps) and a perfect 5th (seven half steps) on the root. For C that gives C, E and G. Every shape below is some arrangement of those three notes, with a few doubled in another octave.

Note	Formula	Interval from C
C	1	Root
E	3	Major 3rd
G	5	Perfect 5th

Major chords sound settled and bright. They are the I, IV and V of every major key, which is why so many songs get by on three of them.

The key of C major

No sharps or flats. C, G, Am, Dm and Em all have open shapes, and F is either a 1st-fret barre or the smaller xx3211.

The seven chords built from the C major scale:

IC
iiDm
iiiEm
IVF
VG
viAm
vii°Bdim

Songs in C major

Let It Be, The Beatles
Imagine, John Lennon
No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley & The Wailers
Lean on Me, Bill Withers

Keys that use C

Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of C, E and G, and the chord's Roman numeral in each. Minor keys marked harmonic get the chord from the raised 7th of the harmonic minor scale.

Key	C is the
C major	I
G major	IV
F major	V
F minor (harmonic)	V
E minor	VI
A minor	III
D minor	VII

Progressions to try

I–IV–V in C major

C
F
G
C

The three-chord backbone of folk, blues and early rock and roll.

I–V–vi–IV in C major

The loop under a huge share of pop songs since the 1980s.

I–vi–IV–V in C major

The 1950s doo-wop progression. Same chords as above, different order, very different mood.

The relative minor is Am, which shares its key signature. The parallel minor is Cm, same root with the 3rd lowered.

Other chords on C:

See every chord in the library

C major chord