C

About the C chord

The C chord (major) is made up of 3 notes — C is the root, E the major third and G the perfect fifth. It is the plainest, most stable chord there is — a major triad with nothing added.

On guitar, C chords are most often played in open position: x32010. Let the open G and high E strings ring, and leave the low E string out. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings in all.

Major chords sound bright and settled, anchoring a huge share of pop, folk and rock.

Open C in the interactive finder →

Common questions

What notes are in the C chord?

The C chord contains the notes C, E and G.

How do you play C on guitar?

A common open-position shape is x32010. The diagrams above show 4 playable voicings you can strum or hear.

What intervals make up the C chord?

The C chord is built from the root (C), a major third (E) and a perfect fifth (G).

More than a chord chart

The chart above is just the start. Open C in the finder to hear it on guitar and piano and browse every playable voicing side by side. Or switch to Name my chord — tap frets or keys and MobileChords identifies the chord you're playing, inversions and slash chords included.