Chord shapes
C chord finder
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Chord diagram
Shape 1 of 3
Open C shape · Frets 0-3
C
Shape difficulty
Beginner-friendlyMain challenge: Avoiding unwanted strings so the intended voicing speaks cleanly when you strum through it.
Chord tones
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C Guitar Chords
Compare common C chords, hear how their notes change, and move to related scales when you want more context.
C makes more sense when you hear the plain major and minor sounds beside their seventh, suspended, and added-tone colors.
Common C chords
C
C Major
a bright, stable, foundational sound. beginner songs, pop, folk, country, worship, and the I, IV, and V chords behind countless progressions.
Notes: C, E, and G
Cm
C Minor
a darker, moodier sound than a major triad. minor-key songs, ballads, indie progressions, cinematic writing, and any harmony that needs a darker contrast.
Notes: C, E♭, and G
C7
C7
a tense, bluesy, forward-leaning sound. blues, folk turnarounds, rock cadences, and any progression that needs a clear pull into the next chord.
Notes: C, E, G, and B♭
C7sus4
C7sus4
a suspended dominant sound with forward pull. rock turnarounds, worship progressions, bluesy cadences, and dominant moments that want tension without a plain major third.
Notes: C, F, G, and B♭
Cmaj7
C Major 7
a smooth, lush major sound. jazz-influenced pop, neo-soul, ballads, and smoother tonic or subdominant harmony.
Notes: C, E, G, and B
Cm7
C Minor 7
a mellow, soulful, more relaxed minor sound. jazz, soul, funk, mellow pop, neo-soul, and softer minor-key progressions.
Notes: C, E♭, G, and B♭
Cdim
C Diminished
a tight, tense, unstable sound. leading-tone harmony, passing chords, and tighter tension points in both major and minor progressions.
Notes: C, E♭, and G♭
Caug
C Augmented
a bright but unsettled sound. passing harmony, dramatic songwriting turns, and color-chord moments where a plain major triad feels too settled.
Notes: C, E, and G♯
C6
C6
a warm major sound with a little extra motion. older pop, swing-flavored rhythm work, warmer tonic harmony, and arranged parts that want motion without a seventh chord.
Notes: C, E, G, and A
Cm6
C Minor 6
a minor sound with an added lift. jazzier minor-key writing, arranged rhythm parts, and progressions that want more motion than a plain minor chord.
Notes: C, E♭, G, and A
Cadd9
C Add 9
an open, airy major sound. acoustic pop, worship, singer-songwriter arrangements, and other progressions that want a wider top end.
Notes: C, E, G, and D
C9
C9
a bluesy dominant sound with extra color. blues, funk, soul, and richer dominant grooves where a plain 7 chord needs more color.
Notes: C, E, G, B♭, and D
Csus2
C Sus2
an open, suspended sound. acoustic strumming, pop hooks, singer-songwriter progressions, and repeated patterns that need motion without extra harmonic complexity.
Notes: C, D, and G
Csus4
C Sus4
a suspended, pushing, unresolved sound. rock, pop, worship, and singer-songwriter strumming patterns where tension and release happen around one root sound.
Notes: C, F, and G
C5
C Power
a punchy, direct, neutral guitar sound. rock riffs, punk, palm-muted rhythm parts, and higher-gain playing where full triads can sound too busy.
Notes: C and G