C

How to play the C Major Chord on your piano or keyboard

From the chord symbol C we get the following information:

• The C chord has the note C as root note
• The C chord is a 3-note chord (a triad)
• The C chord is a major chord

Because C is a 3-note chord it also has 3 inversions:

• Root inversion
• 1st. inversion
• 2nd. inversion

C chord – Root inversion (basic inversion) looks like this: C – E – G

C chord – 1st. inversion (root note at the top of the chord): E – G – C

C chord – 2nd. inversion (root note in the middle of the chord): G – C – E

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C chord – fingering:

Root inversion:

Finger	1	3	5
Note	C	E	G

1st. inversion:

Finger	1	2	5
Note	E	G	C

2nd. inversion:

Finger	1	3	5
Note	G	C	E

C chord – Closely related scales and harmonic functions:

The C chord is the 1st. step in the C major scale

Step	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Chord	C	Dm	Em	F	G	Am	Bm(b5)

The C chord is the 4th. step in the G major scale

Step	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Chord	G	Am	Bm	C	D	Em	F#m(b5)

The C chord is the 5th. step in the F major scale

Step	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Chord	F	Gm	Am	Bb	C	Dm	Em(b5)

The C chord is the 3rd. step in the A minor scale

Step	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Chord	Am	Bm(b5)	C	Dm	Em	F	G