How to play C (C Major) on Piano
Diagram, notes, and audio for the C chord on piano. Free in your browser.
About C on piano
C major is the first chord every piano student learns because its three notes — C, E, G — are all white keys arranged in a perfect five-note span by the right hand: thumb on C, middle finger on E, pinky on G. There are no sharps or flats anywhere in the chord or its parent scale, which is why C major is the home key of beginner method books from John Thompson to Faber.
Functionally C major is the I chord in the key of C, the IV in G major, and the V in F major. The triad sits at the centre of Western tonal music: the most common pop progression of the last seventy years — I-V-vi-IV (C-G-Am-F in this key) — is the cornerstone of thousands of hits. Mastering smooth voice leading between these chords on piano is one of the highest-leverage early skills a beginner can build.
On the keyboard, C major is also the visual anchor. C is the white key directly to the left of every group of two black keys, which makes it the easiest chord to find without looking. Inversions matter here too: 1st inversion (E-G-C) and 2nd inversion (G-C-E) both belong to C major and are used to keep voice-leading smooth between consecutive chords in a progression.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is C on the piano?
- Every C is the white key immediately to the left of a group of two black keys. Middle C is the C closest to the centre of a standard 88-key piano.
- What are the inversions of C major?
- Root position is C-E-G; 1st inversion is E-G-C; 2nd inversion is G-C-E. All three contain the same notes, just stacked differently.
- What chords go well with C major?
- G, F, Am, and Dm — the V, IV, vi, and ii of the key of C — form the bulk of pop, folk, and classical progressions in C.
Switch instruments
See C on a different instrument — same chord, new diagram.