How to Play a C Chord on the Piano

Major Chords

Let’s look at how to play a C major chord on the piano. We’ll also learn the pattern for building any major chord.

What Are Major Chords?

Major chords are built with the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale (learn how to build a major scale here).

They’re the most common type of piano chords. I wrote an earlier post covering major chords in more detail if you’d like the full explanation.

piano chords printable charts

Chord Types Printable

Learn to play 17 types of piano chords using 12 different root notes with this 34-page PDF! Chords are sorted both by their root note (C, D, E, etc.) and type (major, minor, augmented, diminished, etc.).

How to Play a C Major Chord

So let’s look at how to play a C major chord on the piano.

To play a C major chord, we’d play the first, third and fifth notes of the C major scale, C – E – G.

So we’d play:

C – E – G

c chord piano

You can use this pattern to build any major chord on the piano!

Just play the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

Other Chord Types

Some of the other chord types you can learn are:

Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Second
Minor Second
Suspended
Fifth
Sixth
Minor Sixth
Seventh
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh
Ninth
Minor Ninth
Major ninth

Conclusion

Piano chords are such a great way to learn the piano, because they give you lots of room for creativity. Once you understand the patterns on the piano, it begins taking on new life and becomes much more enjoyable to play.

Having a good grasp of major chords will lay a wonderful foundation for your piano playing!

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4 Comments

  1. Dave Miller

    Wonderfully clear and simple. Well told.

    Reply
    • Julie

      Thank you!

  2. Sylvia

    Thank you for making all this easy to understand. Love the charts!

    Reply
    • Julie Swihart

      You’re welcome, I’m glad you’re enjoying the charts!

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