C contains C · E · G. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

How do you build a major chord?

Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.

What is the difference between C and a minor chord on the same root?

One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.

What notes are in the C Major chord?

The C Major chord contains the notes C · E · G: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the C Major chord?

Measured from C, the C Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

C Major Chord (C): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	C3 · E3 · G3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C Major (C) contains the notes C · E · G, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built

Inversions

An inversion of C Major puts a chord tone other than C in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales C Major belongs to.

In which keys

C Major is diatonic to 7 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

C majorITonic
A minorIIITonic
G majorIVSubdominant
E minorVISubdominant
F minorVDominant
F majorVDominant
D minorVIISubdominant

Scales that contain it

C Major fits inside these scales, each built on C.

C Major PentatonicC · D · E · G · A
C Major BluesC · D · Eb · E · G · A
C MajorC · D · E · F · G · A · B
C LydianC · D · E · F# · G · A · B
C MixolydianC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
C Lydian DominantC · D · E · F# · G · A · Bb
C Phrygian DominantC · Db · E · F · G · Ab · Bb
C Harmonic MajorC · D · E · F · G · Ab · B

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C Major: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

C5C · G

Richer

Cmaj7C · E · G · B
C7C · E · G · Bb
C6C · E · G · A
Cadd9C · E · G · D
C7#9C · E · G · Bb · D#
Cmaj9C · E · G · B · D

Common substitutions

AmA · C · E
Am is the relative minor: it shares two notes with C and often stands in for it.
EmE · G · B
Em shares two notes with C and gives a softer tonic.

Major on every root

C#Db D Eb E F F#Gb G G#Ab A Bb B

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C Major chord

Names and symbols

C is the chord symbol for C Major; it is also written CM, C^, Cmaj.

How it is built

On C the major triad is C · E · G, stacking the intervals 1P · 3M · 5P. The major third makes it sound bright; the perfect fifth makes it sound settled.

Change only the third and the chord turns minor. Everything the ear reads as "happy" or "sad" in a plain triad lives in that one note.

How it is used

It is the I chord of its own key and the tonic almost every progression eventually returns to. It also appears as the IV and V of its key, which is why three major triads are enough for a large share of folk, country and rock.

Inverted, it keeps its identity completely — C with the third or fifth in the bass is still C, just voiced to smooth the bass line.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in C?: C contains C · E · G. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
How do you build a major chord?: Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.
What is the difference between C and a minor chord on the same root?: One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.
What notes are in the C Major chord?: The C Major chord contains the notes C · E · G: the root C with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the C Major chord?: Measured from C, the C Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.