My Chord FinderTHE KEY OF C
The key of C major has seven chords: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim. Each chart below shows one common fingering, the notes it sounds, and a link into the chord finder for other shapes of the same chord. The theory behind the seven is at the end of the page.
Every chord in the key roots on a note of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B). Scale spelling: Open Music Theory: major scales. The order of qualities is the same in each major key: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished; degrees and their numbering: Open Music Theory: Roman numerals.
| Degree | Chord | Quality | Notes | Frets (6 → 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | C | Major | C E G | × 3 2 0 1 0 |
| ii | Dm | Minor | D F A | × × 0 2 3 1 |
| iii | Em | Minor | E G B | 0 2 2 0 0 0 |
| IV | F | Major | F A C | 1 3 3 2 1 1 |
| V | G | Major | G B D | 3 2 0 0 0 3 |
| vi | Am | Minor | A C E | × 0 2 2 1 0 |
| vii° | Bdim | Diminished | B D F | × 2 3 4 3 × |
I · Major
C – E – G · frets × 3 2 0 1 0 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 5 to string 1. Open C in the chord finder ↗
ii · Minor
D – F – A · frets × × 0 2 3 1 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 4 to string 1. Open Dm in the chord finder ↗
iii · Minor
E – G – B · frets 0 2 2 0 0 0 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 6 to string 1. Open Em in the chord finder ↗
IV · Major
F – A – C · frets 1 3 3 2 1 1 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 6 to string 1. Open F in the chord finder ↗
V · Major
G – B – D · frets 3 2 0 0 0 3 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 6 to string 1. Open G in the chord finder ↗
vi · Minor
A – C – E · frets × 0 2 2 1 0 (6 → 1)
Strum from string 5 to string 1. Open Am in the chord finder ↗
vii° · Diminished
B – D – F · frets × 2 3 4 3 × (6 → 1)
Strum from string 5 to string 2. Open Bdim in the chord finder ↗
Charts show frets 1 to 4 unless a "fr" label says otherwise. × do not play the string, ○ open string, and numbered dots are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Letters under each chart are the notes the played strings sound.
C, Dm, Em, G and Am also appear in Guitar Chords for Beginners, with a routine for changing between them. The F chart is a barre across the first fret and Bdim is a four-fret shape at the second position; both are easier once the open shapes feel steady.
Each chart stands upright like the guitar in front of you. The vertical lines are the six strings, low E on the left; the horizontal lines are frets, and a heavy top line is the nut at fret 1.
Each chart is one fingering choice, not the only one. The guitar chord finder marks fret positions instead of fingers and offers further shapes for the same chord; How to read guitar chord charts covers the diagram conventions in more detail.
Songs in C keep returning to a few loops of these seven chords. The generator on this site starts from the patterns below; the roman numerals describe the same movement in any major key.
| Progression | In C | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| I–V–vi–IV | C – G – Am – F | Hear it ↗ |
| I–vi–IV–V | C – Am – F – G | Hear it ↗ |
| vi–IV–I–V | Am – F – C – G | Hear it ↗ |
| I–IV–V–I | C – F – G – C | Hear it ↗ |
| I–V–IV–I | C – G – F – C | Hear it ↗ |
| I–IV–I–V | C – F – C – G | Hear it ↗ |
| I–vi–ii–V | C – Am – Dm – G | Hear it ↗ |
Each link opens the four chords in the chord progression generator, where you can hear them, change the tempo, edit any chord and copy the link.
Adding one more third above each triad gives the seventh chords of the key. The names follow the same degrees as the seven above. Seventh chords: Open Music Theory: seventh chords.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Cmaj7 | C E G B |
| ii7 | Dm7 | D F A C |
| iii7 | Em7 | E G B D |
| IVmaj7 | Fmaj7 | F A C E |
| V7 | G7 | G B D F |
| vi7 | Am7 | A C E G |
| viiø7 | Bm7♭5 | B D F A |
The finder has shapes for all of these types from any root; for example, Dm7 in the chord finder or Bm7♭5.
Every chord here is built from notes of the C major scale. A major triad stacks a major third and a perfect fifth above the root (1, 3, 5). A minor triad lowers the third (1, ♭3, 5), and a diminished triad lowers the third and the fifth (1, ♭3, ♭5). Building a triad from each of the seven notes of the scale is what produces the order of qualities in the table above. Triad formulas: Open Music Theory: triads.
The charts are one suggested fingering per chord. The site's own diagrams are candidate shapes generated from chord tones and fretboard geometry, and no shape here promises a particular fingering for every hand. See About My Chord Finder for how the tools and their results work, and use the contact page if a chart disagrees with your instrument.
Use the guitar chord finder to compare alternative shapes and hear each chord, guitar scales to see where these notes sit across the neck, or the piano chord finder to play the same chords on keys. The pentatonic scale page connects the scale shapes that fit over these chords, and Guitar Chords in F is the neighbouring key: C and F share six of their seven notes.
Other keys: chords in the key of g, chords in the key of a, chords in the key of d, chords in the key of e and chords in the key of b.