Guitar Lesson - Chords in the C Major Guitar Scale

Written by Edward Cupler

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C Major Chord Diagrams

Guitar Lesson Notes

• Every scale will have a sequence of major and minor chords that are constructed from the notes of the scale you're using.
• Basic chords like the chords in this lesson are a combination of three notes from the C major scale, a Root, a third and a fifth
• The root is usually the lowest note in the chord and is the note from which the chords name is derived. That is to say, a C chords root is C, a D chords root is D etc.
• The third is the third note of the scale when counting up from the root note. So, for a C major chord you would count up from the C note, C being one, D would be two and E would be three or the third. For a D minor chord D would be one, E would be two and F would be the third.
• The fifth is the fifth note of the scale when counting up from the root note. So, for a C chord you would count up from the C note, C being one, D would be two and E would be three or the third, F note would be forth and G would be the fifth. For a D chord D would be one, E would be two and F would be the third, G note would be forth and A would be the fifth..