C major chord
Home, in the key everything else is measured against.
- How it sounds
- The plainest major chord there is, bright without showing off. C to E is four frets, and that gap gives it its warmth, while the G on top holds it steady. In the open shape the G and high E strings ring free over a C in the bass. For a chord this easy to play, it sounds big.
- Where it lives
- Anywhere a song needs to come home. It’s the I of C major, the IV of G and the V of F, which puts it all over folk, pop, gospel and most beginner songbooks. It’s usually one of the first few chords a guitarist learns.
Voicings across the neck
C, E and G can be played in five places on the neck, each built from a different open chord shape. Neighbouring forms share a root, so each one hands over to the next, and together they run from the nut to the 13th fret before the cycle starts again. The open form rings the most. The E form at the 8th fret is the fullest barre, all six strings. The D form at the 10th uses only the top four, which keeps it small and bright and easy to hear over a band.
- High E string: E at fret 0
- B string: C at fret 1
- G string: G at fret 0
- D string: E at fret 2
- A string: C at fret 3
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: G at fret 3
- B string: E at fret 5
- G string: C at fret 5
- D string: G at fret 5
- A string: C at fret 3
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: C at fret 8
- B string: E at fret 5
- G string: C at fret 5
- D string: G at fret 5
- A string: E at fret 7
- Low E string: C at fret 8
- High E string: C at fret 8
- B string: G at fret 8
- G string: E at fret 9
- D string: C at fret 10
- A string: G at fret 10
- Low E string: C at fret 8
- High E string: E at fret 12
- B string: C at fret 13
- G string: G at fret 12
- D string: C at fret 10
- A string: not played
- Low E string: not played
Formula
| Intervals | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| R · M3 · P5: what each interval does in a chord | C · E · G | 4 + 3 |
C major is a root, a major third and a perfect fifth: C, E and G, taken from the C major scale by skipping every other note. Four then three is what makes a chord major. Turn the gaps round, three then four, and you get C minor: C, E♭, G.
In these keys and scales
C major turns up in twelve scales on the site, and the job it does depends on the scale. In C major it’s the I, home. In F major and F harmonic minor it’s the V, the chord that pulls back toward F. As the VI of E minor it’s a warm step away from home. The numeral beside each scale names the job, and the name opens that scale’s page.
| Family | Scales |
|---|---|
| Major | |
| Natural minor | |
| Harmonic minor | |
| Melodic minor | |
| Pentatonic |
Progressions
A lot of progressions in C major start on C, and nearly all of them come back to it. In I–IV–V the other two chords keep returning to it. In I–vi–IV–V, the fifties turnaround, it’s where the loop begins, and the G at the end sends it back.