# C, the C major guitar chord

C major sounds clear and balanced, and more songs come to rest on it than on any other chord. Its three fingers climb the frets like a staircase. Curl each one so the open G and high E can ring, and start your strum from the A string, not the low E.

C

## How to play it

- Index finger on the B string (2nd), 1st fret.
- Middle finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Ring finger on the A string (5th), 3rd fret.
- Let the open G string (3rd) and high E string (1st) ring.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

## Changes to practice

Holding C still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice C as changes, alongside the rest of the Open Majors set:

- [C ↔ E](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-major/) C major to E major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj.C~E.maj.E)
- [C ↔ A](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-major/) C major to A major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~C.maj.C)
- [C ↔ D](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-major/) C major to D major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj.C~D.maj.D)
- [C ↔ G](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-major/) C major to G major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj.C~G.maj.G)

## Same root, different color

- [Cm](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-minor/), C minor
- [C7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-7/), C dominant 7
- [Cm7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-minor-7/), C minor 7
- [Cmaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-major-7/), C major 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill C in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/C.maj.C~E.maj.E)