C Major CAGED Chord Shapes: All 5 Positions on Guitar
C major is C, E and G. The CAGED system gives five shapes for it up the neck: the A shape from the 3rd fret, the G shape from the 5th fret, the E shape from the 8th fret, the D shape from the 10th fret and the C shape from the 12th fret. The C shape is also the open C chord you may already know.
Keys
CAGED Chords — C
Triads — C
Root position
First inversion
Second inversion
All inversions
The notes of C
C is a major triad: root, major third and fifth (1 3 5), which is a major third (four frets) with a minor third (three frets) on top. Every shape below is those three notes, doubled in different octaves.
How the five shapes connect
From the bottom of the neck up, the shapes run A (3), G (5), E (8), D (10) and C (12). Each one starts where the last one's top notes are, so playing them in order moves one chord up the whole fretboard. After the C shape, the A shape comes round again twelve frets higher.
The A shape and G shape share 3 notes (G on the D string at fret 5, C on the G string at fret 5 and E on the B string at fret 5), which is the hinge between them.
Where the root, C, sits in each shape: A shape: A and G; G shape: low E and G; E shape: low E, D and high e; D shape: D and B; C shape: A and B. Find that string first and the rest of the shape falls into place around it.
Where C appears
C belongs to 8 keys: I in C major, V in F major and IV in G major; VII in D minor, VI in E minor and III in A minor; VI in E harmonic minor and V in F harmonic minor.
Of those, C major, G major, D minor, E minor, A minor and E harmonic minor are keys guitarists play in constantly, because their open strings ring with the scale, so C turns up often in songs.
Open strings and capo options for C
Three open strings are part of C: the low E string (the third), the G string (the fifth) and the high e string (the third). None of them is the root, so they colour a voicing rather than anchor it.
There's an open C chord at the nut: the C shape.
With a capo you can also play it as the A shape with the capo at fret 3 and the G shape with the capo at fret 5.
Closely related chords
The closest chords to C share two of its three notes: its relative minor and the chords a fourth and a fifth away, which are its neighbours in C major.
C CAGED FAQs
What notes are in a C chord?
C, E and G: the root, major third and fifth (1 3 5).
What are the CAGED shapes for C major?
the A shape from the 3rd fret, the G shape from the 5th fret, the E shape from the 8th fret, the D shape from the 10th fret and the C shape from the 12th fret. A shape is the lowest; the A shape repeats twelve frets higher.
Is there an open C chord?
Yes. It's the C shape at the nut, the same shape as the C shape on this page twelve frets lower.
Related
Learn more
The CAGED system explained covers how the five shapes are built and linked. The CAGED guitar lessons set out what to learn next, and the CAGED library has every major and minor chord.