C major piano chord, notes and fingering.

The C major piano chord is made of three notes: C, E and G. Press them together and you are playing C major. It is a root (C), a major third (E, four semitones above the root) and a perfect fifth (G, seven semitones above). On a chord chart it is written simply as C, with no letters after it.

How to play C major on piano

1. Find C on the keyboard. C is the white key just left of the pair of black keys.
2. With your right hand, put finger 1 on C, finger 3 on E and finger 5 on G. Finger 1 is the thumb.
3. Press all three keys together. In root position they run from C4 to G4, a reach of 7 semitones. Play chord sounds them together and Arpeggio sounds them one by one, from the bottom up.
4. Click Left hand to see the left hand. It plays C3 to G3, one octave lower: C with finger 5, E with finger 3, G with finger 1.
5. The cards under the keyboard hold the three positions, with C, E and G at the bottom in turn. Play and Arpeggio on a card play that position.
6. Open Note names. Every note of this chord is a white key, so the Sharps and Flats choices show the same names.

How C major is built

Counted from the root, the formula is 0, 4, 7. Stacked on each other the gaps are 4 + 3: a major third (C to E) with a minor third (E to G) on top. Lower the middle note by one semitone, E to Eb, and the chord turns into C minor.

Worked example: the pitch of C4. On a piano tuned to A4 = 440 Hz, a note 9 semitones below A4 has the frequency 440 × 2^(-9/12), which is about 261.63 Hz. E4 is 5 semitones below A4, so 440 × 2^(-5/12) gives about 329.63 Hz.

What the keys look like under your hand

The black key nearest C is C# on its right. On its left there is none, because B and C are only a semitone apart. All three notes are white keys (C, E and G), so the hand can stay flat and there is no reaching for a black key. The thumb (C) and little finger (G) are both on white keys here, so the hand can lie in its natural shape.

C major inversions and fingering

C major has three positions. In root position C is at the bottom. In the first inversion, E is at the bottom and the chord is written C/E. In the second inversion, G is at the bottom and the chord is written C/G. The tightest reach, 7 semitones from the lowest key to the highest, is the root position. The widest, at 9, is the second inversion.

The keys that hold C major

C major fits six of the major and natural minor keys that have a standard key signature, which means every note of it comes from that key's scale. The simplest is C major, with no sharps or flats, where it is chord I.

Progressions that use C major, with the chord numbers and the chords in that key:

• C major: I-V-vi-IV, which is C, G, Am, F, the four-chord loop heard in a great deal of pop.
• A minor: i-III-VII-iv, which is Am, C, G, Dm, a loop that climbs to III and VII.
• G major: I-IV-V-I, which is G, C, D, G, the three-chord cadence of folk, rock and blues.

Here is a worked example in C major. The chord before C major in the first progression above is F (F, A and C). From F in root position, the closest way to reach C major is its first inversion (E, G and C, lowest note first): one note stays where it is, and the others move 3 semitones in total, counting each note against the note in the same place from the bottom.

What C major sounds like

Major chords sound bright and settled, which is why songs so often end on one. In a major key the major chords are I, IV and V, and those three alone can carry a great many songs. A major triad is also the first chord most pianists learn.

You will meet C major as the I chord in C major, the III chord in A minor and the IV chord in G major. It is also the V chord in F minor, where the raised seventh of the harmonic minor scale makes the chord major.

A common mistake with C major

A common mistake is pressing Eb instead of E, one semitone lower than the third of C major. That turns the chord into Cm (C, Eb and G). If your C chord sounds sad, check the middle finger first.

Chords to learn next

Chords close to C major: C minor (same root, with a minor third; shares C and G); C7 (adds a flat seventh; contains all its notes); Cmaj7 (adds a major seventh; contains all its notes); A minor (its relative minor; shares C and E).

Once C major feels easy, play it and then Cm to hear what one note changes. For chords beyond these six types, and for guitar and ukulele shapes, use the chord finder. To play along with your computer keys, open the virtual piano. The piano chords page lists all 72 chords.