C Major Guitar Chords and Chord Progressions

The key of C major has no sharps and no flats. For reference, here are the notes in the C major scale:

  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • A
  • B

All the chords in the key of C major are made up of these seven notes, and each note gets to be the root note for one of the chords, thus making seven triad chords in this key.

  • C Major
  • D Minor
  • E Minor
  • F Major
  • G Major
  • A Minor
  • B Diminished

Note: In this article I’m using guitar chord charts that I created using Microsoft Paint. Here are all the guitar chord charts that are free to use personally and commercially under Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License.

I Chord — C Major or C Major Seventh

The first chord (I) in the key of C major is the C major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the C major chord on guitar.

C Major chord chart for guitar

The C major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the I chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the C major seventh chord.

C Major Seventh chord chart for guitar

ii Chord — D Minor or D Minor Seventh

The second chord (ii) in the key of C major is the D minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the D minor chord on guitar.

D Minor chord chart for guitar

The D minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the ii chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the D minor seventh chord.

D Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

iii Chord — E Minor or E Minor Seventh

The third chord (iii) in the key of C major is the E minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the E minor chord on guitar.

E Minor chord chart for guitar

The E minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iii chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the E minor seventh chord.

E Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

IV Chord — F Major or F Major Seventh

The fourth chord (IV) in the key of C major is the F major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the F major chord on guitar.

F Major chord chart for guitar

The F major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the IV chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the F major seventh chord.

F Major Seventh chord chart for guitar

V Chord — G Major or G Dominant Seventh

The fifth chord (V) in the key of C major is the G major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the G major chord on guitar.

G Major chord chart for guitar

The G dominant seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the V chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the G dominant seventh chord.

G Dominant Seventh chord chart for guitar

vi Chord — A Minor or A Minor Seventh

The sixth chord (vi) in the key of C major is the A minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the A minor chord on guitar.

A Minor chord chart for guitar

The A minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the vi chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the A minor seventh chord.

A Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

viidim Chord — B Diminished or B Minor Seventh Flat Five

The seventh chord (viidim) in the key of C major is the B diminished chord. Below is my preferred way to play the B diminished chord on guitar.

B Diminished chord chart for guitar

The B minor seventh flat five chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the viidim chord in the key of C major. Below is my favorite way to play the B minor seventh flat five chord.

B Minor Seventh Flat Five chord chart for guitar

Chord Progressions in the Key of C Major

Here are 10 chord progressions in the key of C Major that you can experiment with. I have included guitar tablature to make playing the chords easier for you.

1. C Major, F Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ------------1---1-----3---3---

2. C Major, G Major, A Minor, F Major

E| --0---0-----3---3-----0---0-----1---1---
B| --1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----3---3---
A| --3---3-----2---2-----0---0-----3---3---
E| ------------3---3---------------1---1---

3. C Major, F Major, C Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ------------1---1---------------3---3---

4. C Major, E Minor, F Major, A Minor

E| --0---0-----0---0-----1---1-----0---0---
B| --1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----1---1---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----3---3-----2---2---
A| --3---3-----2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
E| ------------0---0-----1---1-------------

5. A Minor, F Major, C Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --2---2-----2---2-----0---0-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
A| --0---0-----3---3-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ------------1---1---------------3---3---

6. F Major, C Major, G Major, C Major

E| --1---1-----0---0-----3---3-----0---0---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1---
G| --2---2-----0---0-----0---0-----0---0---
D| --3---3-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----2---2-----3---3---
E| --1---1---------------3---3-------------

7. C Major, A Minor, F Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----0---0-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----0---0-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ----------------------1---1-----3---3---

8. D Minor, G Major, C Major, A Minor

E| --1---1-----3---3-----0---0-----0---0---
B| --3---3-----0---0-----1---1-----1---1---
G| --2---2-----0---0-----0---0-----2---2---
D| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2---
A| ------------2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
E| ------------3---3-----------------------

9. C Major, F Major, A Minor, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----0---0-----2---2---
E| ------------1---1---------------3---3---

10. C Major, D Minor, E Minor, F Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----3---3-----0---0-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
A| --3---3---------------2---2-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ----------------------0---0-----1---1-----3---3---

11. C Major, F Major, D Minor, G Major

E| --0---0-----1---1-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----1---1-----3---3-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----3---3-----0---0-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----3---3---------------2---2---
E| ------------1---1---------------3---3---

12. C Major, G Major, A Minor, E Minor, F Major, C Major, F Major, G Major

E| --0---0-----3---3-----0---0-----0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----0---0-----1---1-----1---1-----1---1-----0---0---
G| --0---0-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----0---0---
D| --2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----2---2-----3---3-----2---2-----3---3-----0---0---
A| --3---3-----2---2-----0---0-----2---2-----3---3-----3---3-----3---3-----2---2---
E| ------------3---3---------------0---0-----1---1---------------1---1-----3---3---

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