C major chord on piano

The C chord (C major) is three notes: C, E and G. Start on C, count four half steps up to E, then three more to G.

  • Croot, 1
  • Emajor 3rd, 3
  • Gperfect 5th, 5
C1E3G5

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

How to play C major on piano

  1. Find C, the white key just left of a group of two black keys.
  2. Put your right thumb (finger 1) on C.
  3. Count four half steps up, black and white keys alike, to E. Rest your middle finger (3) there.
  4. Count three more half steps to G for your little finger (5).
  5. Press all three keys together.
  6. For the left hand, play the same keys with fingers 5, 3 and 1, or play C an octave lower with your little finger.

Inversions

  1. C1E3G5

    Root position

    C, E, G

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  2. E1G2C5

    1st inversion

    E, G, C

    Right hand 1, 2, 5; left hand 5, 3, 1.

  3. G1C3E5

    2nd inversion

    G, C, E

    Right hand 1, 3, 5; left hand 5, 2, 1.

Practice C major

Hold each position of C major for four beats, then move to the next: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, and round again. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every change lands on the beat.

CEG
  1. Root positionC–E–G
  2. 1st inversionE–G–C
  3. 2nd inversionG–C–E

The shape of C major

C major is all white keys, the same pattern as F major and G major.

C major is built from the C major scale: take its 1st, 3rd and 5th notes, skipping every other note.

  1. C1
  2. D2
  3. E3
  4. F4
  5. G5
  6. A6
  7. B7

Smooth changes from C major

Jumping from one root position chord to the next moves the whole hand. The right inversion keeps shared notes still and moves the others the shortest way. Below are the chords built on the 4th and 5th notes of C major's own key: F and G.

  • CFA

    From C to F, play F in 2nd inversion (C–F–A): C stays, E moves up a half step to F and G moves up two half steps to A.

  • BDG

    From C to G, play G in 1st inversion (B–D–G): C moves down a half step to B, E moves down two half steps to D and G stays.

C major on the staff and on guitar

On the treble staff, C sits on a ledger line below the staff, E on the bottom line and G on the second line.
×321CEGCE
Open CFrets, low E to high E: x 3 2 0 1 0
3fr×13331CGCEG
A shape, 3rd fretFrets, low E to high E: x 3 5 5 5 3
8fr134211CGCEGC
E shape, 8th fretFrets, low E to high E: 8 10 10 9 8 8

Keys with C major in them

  • C majorIC, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim
  • F majorVF, Gm, Am, B♭, C, Dm, Edim
  • G majorIVG, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F♯dim
  • D minorVIIDm, Edim, F, Gm, Am, B♭, C
  • E minorVIEm, F♯dim, G, Am, Bm, C, D
  • F minorVFrom F harmonic minor, which raises the scale's 7th note a half step so this chord leads back to F.
  • A minorIIIAm, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G

Progressions that use it

  • I–IV–V, in C major

    1. IC
    2. IVF
    3. VG

  • I–V–vi–IV, in C major

    1. IC
    2. VG
    3. viAm
    4. IVF

  • vi–IV–I–V, in C major

    1. viAm
    2. IVF
    3. IC
    4. VG

  • I–vi–IV–V (the 50s progression), in C major

    1. IC
    2. viAm
    3. IVF
    4. VG

Related chords

Hearing a chord you can't name? Press its keys in the chord identifier.

Save or print the C major chord chart

C major chord on piano keyboard, notes C E G
Download the C major chord chart (PNG). Free to print and share. For every chord on one page, see the piano chord chart.

Practice notes for C major

C major is usually the first chord on the piano, and for a good reason: all three notes are white keys, so you can see the whole shape at once. Skip one white key, press one, skip one, press one. That gap pattern is the thing to learn, because it works for F major and G major too.

Where it goes wrong. Most early C major chords sound uneven, not wrong. The thumb lands heavier than the other two fingers, so the C booms and the G disappears. Play the three notes one at a time, listen to each, then put them down together and aim for one sound, not three. If one note is missing, it is usually the middle finger on E, pressing the edge of the key and sliding off.

How to practice it. Put the chord down, lift your hand an inch, and find it again without looking. Ten times in a row is better than one long hold. Then do the same with your left hand, fingers 5, 3 and 1, an octave lower. Once both hands find it by feel, try the move to F in 2nd inversion (C–F–A) shown above: your thumb stays on C, and only two fingers move.

What to listen for. A C major chord played evenly sounds settled, like the end of a phrase. If it sounds dull or muddy, you are probably holding the pedal or playing very low on the keyboard; try it around middle C first.

What to learn next. Play C minor straight after it: only the E moves, down to E♭, and hearing those two side by side is the quickest way to learn the difference between major and minor. Then add F and G, and you have the three chords of the I–IV–V progression in C.

Questions

What notes are in a C major chord?

C, E and G. C is the root, E is a major 3rd above it and G is a perfect 5th above it.

How is C major different from C minor?

Only the middle note changes. C minor lowers E a half step to E♭; the other two notes stay.

What does the chord symbol C mean?

A letter on its own means a major chord, so C means C major: C, E and G. You may also see it written CM, Cmaj or CΔ.