How to Play C Chord on Guitar: 16 Amazing Ways

The C major guitar chord is one of the most common chords in guitar music. It’s often one of the first chords that new players are taught. 

But compared to other beginner guitar chords like Em or A, it’s actually quite difficult to play. 

That’s why we’ve created this complete guide to playing the C chord on the guitar. 

How to Play the C Major Chord on Guitar

The easiest version of the C major chord to play is the open version. This means that all notes are played on the first few frets and that you use some open strings.

Here’s how to play it:

• Put finger one on string 2, fret 1
• Put finger two on string 4, second fret
• Put finger three on string 5, third fret
• Strum all strings except string 6

Putting your fingers on three different strings on three different frets can be quite difficult if you are a beginner.

You might find that you accidentally mute some of the strings. To avoid this, make sure you use the tips of your fingers and point them down at the guitar. You may have to bend your singers in a way that isn’t comfortable.

What are the C Major Chord Notes? 

This article mainly focuses on the C major chord. 

A major chord consist of at least three notes from the major scale:

• Note 1 (the root note)
• The 3rd note (The major 3rd)
• The 5th note (The perfect 5th)

For C that’s C, E and G.

Let’s look at the notes we play on C major chord described above:

String 1: E
String 2: C
String 3: G
String 4: E
String 5: C

As you can see, even though 5 different positions are played, only three notes are used. 

Cheat’s version of C

There’s an easier way to play the C chord – but it’s not a proper C major chord.

This means it might not always sound right. But it’s a good way to play songs with the C chord on guitar if you struggle to play it properly. 

You can simply focus on playing the notes on strings 5 and 4. 

This forms a chord called a C major 7.

Other Places to Play the C Chord

There are several places that you can play the C chord across the fretboard. In fact, you can play it anywhere there is a C note.

Most of them are harder to play than the open position chord mentioned above. 

The C power chord

Power chords are sometimes known as 5th chords. They only use a root note and 5th note in the scale. 

They use the same shape across strings 6, 5 and 4 which makes them useful.

There are two main places to play the C power chord:

C powerchord on the low E string

• Put your first finger on the low E string, fret 8
• Put your 3rd finger on the 5th string, fret 10
• Rest your third finger against string 4 to make sure you don’t accidentally play it

C powerchord on the 5th string

• Put your first finger on string 5, third fret 
• Put your third finger on string 4, fret 5
• Rest your third finger against string 4 so you don’t accidentally play it 

Full E chord shape

Imagine how you play an open E chord. This chord shape can be used across the guitar.

How? Put the side of your first finger across all six strings ( this might require a lot of practice). This is called a barre. Chords that use them are called barre chords. 

Now imagine this is the nut (the end of the guitar neck). Now form the chord under your index finger.

Here’s how to do this for a C major chord:

• Put the side of finger one across all strings on fret 8.
• Next, put finger 2 on string 3, fret 9
• Put finger 3 on string 5, fret 10
• Finger 4 goes on string 4, fret 10

Using a barre and all four fingers in this way makes this a tough chord to play. 

Small E chord shape C

If the C major chord above is too difficult for you to play, you may wish just to play the strings 1, 2, 3 and 4.

This is sometimes also called the F-shape version, because this is a common way for the F chord to be played on guitar. 

In this version, the barre only covers two strings which makes it easier to play. 

• Use your index finger to form a barre across fret 8 on strings 1 and 2.
• Put finger 2 on string 3, fret 9
• Put finger 3 on string four fret 10

A-shape C chord

This C major guitar chord is the same shape as an open A.

It is played from the same root note as the C power chord on the 5th string. The difference is that your third finger forms a barre across strings 4,3 and 2.

This might be quite difficult for beginners. Another way to play it is to simply put finger 4 on string 3, fret 5 and mute string 2.

D-shape C chord

This version of the C chord is played so far up the guitar’s neck that it is unlikely you will use it. It’s also difficult to play. You need to stretch your fingers across four frets.

• Put finger one on string 4, fret 10
• Put finger three on string 3, fret 12
• Put finger four on string 2, fret 13

Popular C Chord Guitar Variations

So far, this article has only explained how to play C major. 

But there are lots of other versions of the C guitar chord that provide a different tonality.

For example, while the C major guitar chord has a happy sound, C minor sounds sad. C major 7 on the other hand, sounds jazzy.

How to Play 2 C Minor Chords

The open version of C minor is quite difficult to play. It’s the same as an open C major guitar chord but you need to move the note on string 4, fret 2 down one lower.

This involves using different fingers for all of the notes:

• Put finger 4 on string 5, third fret
• Put finger 1 on string 4, first fret
• Put finger 2 on string 2 first fret
• Strum strings 5, 4, 3, 2

C minor A-shape

You may find it easier to play C minor as an A-shape. This involves playing the A-shaped C barre chord but with the E dropped to an D#.

• Put finger 1 on string 5, fret 3
• Put finger 3 on string 4, fret 5
• Put finger 2 on string 3, fret 5 
• Put finger 4 on string 2, fret 4

C minor E-shape

You can also turn the C barre chord on the 6th string into a minor chord. Once again, you need to change the E to a D#. Here’s how it should look:

• Use finger 1 to create a barre across all strings on fret 8
• Put finger 3 on string 5, fret 10
• Put finger 4 on string 4, fret 10

C major 7

C major 7 or Cmaj7 is a rich, warm-sounding chord. It’s also quite easy. We’ve already briefly described how to play C major 7 – simply play an open C and lift your 1st finger off of the second string and play it open. 

C7

C7 is also relatively easy. Simply play an open C and put your 4th finger on string 4, fret 3. C7 sounds more tense than a normal C, which makes it good to put before the final chord in a progression. Your ear expects it to be resolved with a major chord.  

Csus2

Csus2 sounds complicated. But it’s just a case of turning the E note into a D. Csus2 is a nice rich chord, with an ‘open’ sound.

The easiest way to do this by playing the A-shape version of C but putting your fingers in slightly different places. 

• Put finger 1 across the 3rd fret on strings 5,4,3 and 2
• Put finger 3 on string 4, fret 5
• Put finger 2 on string 3, fret 5

Popular Guitar Songs That Use the C Chord

The C chord is so common it features in thousands – perhaps millions of songs and guitar riffs!

Here are just a few examples of popular songs that feature the C chord and are relatively easy to play:

• Love Me Do – The Beatles
• Knockin on Heaven’s Door – Bob Dylan
• Brown-Eyed Girl – Van Morrisson
• Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi
• Time of Your Life – Green Day
• Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Learn All the Chords With Guitarist 101

If you found this article useful, then check out our other guitar chord guides, including articles on:

• The G chord
• F chord
• B chord
• B7 chord