C Chord — Guitar

C

C is C, E and G.

C has three notes, and the guitar has six strings to play them on. The rest of this page shows how a hand fits one to the other.

On the staff

On a treble staff, C is written C, E and G.

The staff shows the notes one after the other, then together. Written this way the chord is in close position, which means each note sits as near to the one below it as the spelling allows. A guitar almost never plays a chord in close position.

C under a hand

Croot positionposition 8

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds C, G, C, E, G and C, which are the degrees 1 5 1 3 5 1 rather than the 1 3 5 of the written chord. The root is the lowest note, so this grip is in root position and sounds the way the written chord suggests. With C in the bass and six strings sounding three notes, the 1 and 5 appear more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P5›P4›M3›m3›P4

C/Efirst inversionposition 1

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds E, C, E, G, C and E, which are the degrees 3 1 3 5 1 3 rather than the 1 3 5 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 3 rather than the root, so this grip is in first inversion, written C/E. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with E in the bass it sounds different. With E in the bass and six strings sounding three notes, the 1 and 3 appear more than once.

Between the strings you sound: m6›M3›m3›P4›M3

C/Gsecond inversionposition 3

Strummed from the lowest string to the highest, this grip sounds G, C, G, C, E and G, which are the degrees 5 1 5 1 3 5 rather than the 1 3 5 of the written chord. The lowest note is the 5 rather than the root, so this grip is in second inversion, written C/G. It has the same notes as the root-position grip, but with G in the bass it sounds different. With G in the bass and six strings sounding three notes, the 1 and 5 appear more than once.

Between the strings you sound: P4›P5›P4›M3›m3

Three shapes for C on guitar: C, C/E and C/G.

Every grip here is C, but no two of them sound alike. A chord with the root as its lowest note is in root position, and a chord with any other note at the bottom is an inversion. On a keyboard you choose the inversion you want, but on a neck the shape your hand can reach usually decides it for you. When a grip sounds a note more than once, the fretting hand decides which note that is, not the harmony.

C, five ways up the neck

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C form

openC underneath

A form

fret 3C underneath

G form

fret 5E underneath, the 3

E form

fret 8C underneath

D form

fret 10C underneath

Each form on its own

C formC underneathopen position

This is the open C chord itself, the one form of C that needs no barre. It sounds five strings, and its lowest note is the root, C.

A formC underneathbarre at fret 3

This is the open A chord moved up three frets, with your index finger doing the job of the nut. It sounds five strings, and its lowest note is the root, C.

G formE underneath, the 3barre at fret 5

This is the open G chord moved up five frets, with your index finger doing the job of the nut. It sounds five strings. The full G shape would put a root three frets above the barre, which is further than a hand can reach, so the lowest note of what remains is E, the 3.

E formC underneathbarre at fret 8

This is the open E chord moved up eight frets, with your index finger doing the job of the nut. It sounds six strings, and its lowest note is the root, C.

D formC underneathbarre at fret 10

This is the open D chord moved up ten frets, with your index finger doing the job of the nut. It sounds four strings, and its lowest note is the root, C.

C has five forms on guitar: C open, A at fret 3, G at fret 5, E at fret 8 and D at fret 10.

Each of these five shapes is an open chord, C, A, G, E and D, moved up the neck until it plays C. Read left to right and they climb: C open, A at fret 3, G at fret 5, E at fret 8 and D at fret 10. One of them has the third as the lowest note, because the full shape would put a root three frets above the barre, and a hand cannot reach that far. Guitarists call this system CAGED, after the order in which the five shapes appear as you climb.

C, E and G on the whole neck

This diagram marks every C, E and G on the first fifteen frets of the guitar.

Every grip above is a handful of the notes on this diagram, and none of them uses a note that is not shown here.

Where C comes from

C is a chord of C major, D natural minor, E natural minor, F major, G major and A natural minor.

A chord does not belong to a single key. Each major or natural minor key listed here contains every note of C, which is why the same grip turns up in songs that otherwise have little in common.