C chord on guitar

C is the C major chord, made of the notes C E G. Most guitarists play it as X 3 2 0 1 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold C on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.

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1fr321
C

X 3 2 0 1 0

Notes

Degrees: R 3 5. Notes: C E G.

Tuning

Inversions

Voicings

How to play C

The shape most players use is X 3 2 0 1 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:

  1. Put your ring finger on the A string at fret 3.
  2. Put your middle finger on the D string at fret 2.
  3. Put your index finger on the B string at fret 1.
  4. Let the G and high E strings ring open.
  5. Do not play the low E string.
1fr321
C
X 3 2 0 1 0

6 ways to play C

Every shape the chord library holds for C in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one C is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.

More shapes, for every chord: all guitar chords.

  • 1fr321
    C
    X 3 2 0 1 0
    open shape
  • 3fr234
    C
    X 3 5 5 5 3
    barre at fret 3
  • 5fr324
    C
    8 7 5 5 5 8
    barre at fret 5
  • 8fr342
    C
    8 10 10 9 8 8
    barre at fret 8
  • 10fr1243
    C
    X X 10 12 13 12
    closed shape at fret 10
  • 12fr432
    C
    X 15 14 12 13 12
    barre at fret 12

The notes in C

R35
CEG

A major chord is the root, the major third and the fifth: R 3 5.

Put another of its notes in the bass and C becomes an inversion, written with a slash: C/E and C/G. Below, the first shape of each.

  • 1fr321
    C/E
    0 3 2 0 1 0
  • 1fr3421
    C/G
    3 3 2 0 1 0

Keys and progressions with C

C is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.

  • I in C major
  • V in F major
  • IV in G major
  • bVII in D minor
  • bVI in E minor
  • bIII in A minor

It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:

  • Pop Axis in G major: G, D, Em, C
  • Pop Axis from vi in G major: Em, C, G, D
  • 50s Progression in C major: C, Am, F, G
  • Major to Minor Four in G major: G, B, C, Cm
  • Three-Chord Song in G major: G, C, D
  • Aeolian Descent in A minor: Am, F, C, G
  • Mixolydian Vamp in D major: D, C, G

C in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD

  • In Drop D you hold C as in Standard: X 3 2 0 1 0.
  • In Drop C, C is 0 0 0 2 3 2, where Standard has X 3 2 0 1 0.
  • In Drop B, C is 1 1 1 3 4 3, where Standard has X 3 2 0 1 0.
  • In DADGAD, C is X 3 2 0 3 2, where Standard has X 3 2 0 1 0.

More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.

  • 1fr321
    C in Drop D
    X 3 2 0 1 0
  • 1fr132
    C in Drop C
    0 0 0 2 3 2
  • 1fr243
    C in Drop B
    1 1 1 3 4 3
  • 1fr3142
    C in DADGAD
    X 3 2 0 3 2

Get the change up to tempo

A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put C and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.

More on how to change chords faster.

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Questions about C

C, E and G. As degrees they are R 3 5: the root, the major third and the fifth.