C Chords
Every common C chord on guitar and piano. Pick a chord to see the grip, hear it, and switch between variants like C, Cm and C7. Print gives you all C chords on one sheet.
C
C major
- CR
- E3
- G5
Guitar
Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. ✕ = don't play that string, ○ = play it open.
Piano
All C chords at a glance
| Chord | Name | Notes | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C major | C E G | R 3 5 |
| Cm | C minor | C E♭ G | R ♭3 5 |
| C7 | C dominant 7th | C E G B♭ | R 3 5 ♭7 |
| Cmaj7 | C major 7th | C E G B | R 3 5 7 |
| Cm7 | C minor 7th | C E♭ G B♭ | R ♭3 5 ♭7 |
| Csus2 | C suspended 2nd | C D G | R 2 5 |
| Csus4 | C suspended 4th | C F G | R 4 5 |
| Cadd9 | C add 9 | C E G D | R 3 5 9 |
| C6 | C major 6th | C E G A | R 3 5 6 |
| Cdim | C diminished | C E♭ G♭ | R ♭3 ♭5 |
| Caug | C augmented | C E G♯ | R 3 ♯5 |
| Cm7♭5 | C half-diminished 7th | C E♭ G♭ B♭ | R ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 |
The easiest way to play them
On guitar, C is easiest as the open grip and Cm as a barre, 3rd fret grip. Barre chords take practice: press the index finger flat across the strings, close to the fret, and roll it slightly onto its side. On piano, every chord here starts with the same hand shape — thumb on C, then fingers 3 and 5 for a triad (1-2-3-5 for four-note chords). Inversions keep the same notes but put a different one at the bottom, which makes moving between chords smoother.
Keys that use C and Cm
C major scale · C minor scale · Chord finder — name any chord from its notes