Upgrade your basic C Chord!

Discover new C Chord sounds to explore on your guitar. It sounds beautiful!

It's time to learn many different ways of manipulating that easy C Chord we learned as a beginner! That helps you sound more interesting, and you'll be able to easily use these tricks as embellishments! A great one is to create a little bit of melodic movement within the chord itself.

💡 This lesson is part of my Chord Shapes Explorer - included in my Beginner Course - Grade 3. If you've missed the previous lesson, check it out now and discover 10+ beautiful ways of playing the D Chord.

Now let's get to a close-up and explore the C Chord Shape!

Exploring the C Chord Shape

Place your open C Chord on the guitar - we'll start by looking at what happens when we lift our fingers off!

By the time you reach this lesson, you should be pretty comfortable playing your regular C Chord. However, consider revising this lesson if you're struggling to get your C Chord sound great. ;)

Variation #1 - C Major 7

Ok, so the first finger you're lifting off is your first one. You'll get a Cmaj7 - and just switching between that and the regular C Chord sounds awesome already. It adds loads of movements!

🚨 Make sure you're aware that C Major 7 and C7 are different types of chords. They sound very different! C7 is more like a Blues chord, while Cmaj7 sounds folkier. :) You can't substitute one for the other, so use your ears to judge when to use what. Check out my Theory course to understand this better!

So, lifting off your first finger gives you a lovely C Chord! This little variation works particularly well if you hammer that second finger down after playing the chord. ;) You can try that too - but don't worry about fancy pants names for now! If it happens to sound cool, great. If it doesn't sound cool, just move on and try something different.

💡 Did you know? If you lift off a finger from a chord very quickly, you're changing the tonality - that only happens if you left your finger off for ages! So, be careful to not end up playing an Am Chord or something when doing the trick you've just learned. Check out the video lesson to learn more - with examples!

A real common variation with the C Chord is to put your little finger down on the third fret of the thinnest string. You're still playing just a C Chord, but you've doubled an Open G note. So, it's still a C Chord, just not your regular one! :) Inspiring, eh?

If you wonder why there are two very similar variations of the C Chord, a lot of it has to do with a thing we call Voice Leading. Voice Leading is when you go from one chord to another - it's how the note on each string is moving.

🚨 A great example of Voice Leading is when you're moving from the D chord to a regular C chord. Check out the video tutorial to hear it.

Sometimes, you'll just find that putting your little finger down just changes the chord in that subtle way that sounds nicer with the melody. Generally speaking, you're playing the guitar with a singer, so you want to find the nicest chord that fits in that occasion.

But sometimes, you might use these variations in a Chord Melody approach. If you're playing a melody, you might have a specific reason why you want to accent that particular note!

Variation #2 - C7

The C7 chord we've seen before is a very common variation of the C Chord Shape! It generally works okay going to the F Chord.

But again, sometimes, if you've got a regular C and you play a C7 chord, it might sound really cool, or it might sound a bit sour. Experiment and see - if it sounds good, it's good!

Variation #3 - C sus 4

Another option that we've got is adding your little finger on the third fret of the fourth string. This makes it a C sus4. If you don't play the thinnest string, if you do play the thinnest string, you've got a C add4. :)

However, the names here don't really matter. Today's goal is to get you to explore your guitar fretboard and discover new sounds. This gives you a boost of creativity, confidence, and motivation. What a trio! :)

💡 Of course, Theory matters too! Understanding how music works will help you master your guitar playing. :)

Variation #4 - C/G

If you just move your third finger down to the thickest string and put your little finger where the third finger was, you've got a C/G. It means your bass note is now G!

💡 Slash chords sound great are super fun to explore: learn 19 easy slash chords for beginners!

This C/G chord has a cool, old-school kind of rock and roll vibe! Experimenting with this variation can be fun if you dig and play songs like that. :)

Variation #5 - Guess the name! :)

Another common variation doing the same sort of thing involves moving your third finger over. This is kind of a common Country trick - you'd be picking that note, then picking the fifth string, then the sixth string.

💬 Can you guess the name of this chord variation? If you've followed my Theory course - you might get it right! Let me know in the Discussions section. :)

Go Further!

One interesting thing about using the C Chord Shape here is playing the C Major Scale within the chord shape. It might feel tricky to do this if you're a beginner, but it's a nice thing to explore as your skills grow.

In this C Chord Shape, you've got the full scale available there, which becomes really interesting, especially if you're getting into Chord Melody.

The best thing you can do at this stage of your beginner journey is exploring your instrument! Finding melodies within chord shapes is a high-value skill to develop your musicianship.

Your goal is to get those melodies into chord embellishments and variations as soon as you can. Long term, you'll use all of this to embellish your playing very easily and instinctively. :)

Following my new Grade 3? A new lesson is coming out very soon!