How to Play the Open Position C Chord and CAGED C Shape
In the video lesson above, you learn how to play the C chord in open position, as well as how to turn it into a moveable C shape.
You might wonder, why a whole video on such a basic chord? Isn’t a chord box enough?
It’s not just about fretting the shape — it’s what you can and can’t do with it that matters. That’s what you explore in the lesson.
Once you can play it in context — switching to and from it in songs, strumming, picking, etc. — the next step is to turn it into a moveable C shape.
Below is an open-position C chord and its moveable version, taken from Chordacus. From low to high, the intervals are: root, 3rd, 5th, root, 3rd.
C chord extensions
To extend the C chord, we must understand both the theory behind chord construction and the possibilities offered by the C-shaped chord.
Here are some of the chords you can build from a C shape:
- C major (root, 3rd, 5th, root, 3rd)
- Csus2 (root, 2, 5, root)
- Cadd9 (root, 3, 5, 9)
- Csus4 (root, 4, 5, root)
- C7sus4 (root, 4, b7, root)
- C6 (root, 3, 6, root)
- C6/9 (root, 3, 6, 9)
- Cmaj7 (root, 3, 5, 7)
- C7 (root, 3, b7, root)
- C9 (root, 3, b7, 9)
- C7b9 (root, 3, b7, b9)
- C11 (root, b7, 9, 11)
To fully grasp and recognise these chords, you need real songs using them.
For example, Talking About a Revolution plays a Cadd9 with an open E string — Time of Your Life doesn’t.
To hear a Csus2 in a C shape, try Rewind by Paolo Nutini.
A Csus4 in open position appears in Angie by The Rolling Stones.
Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer offers a great example of Cmaj7 and C7 in open position.
Finally, a C-shaped E chord using the open E string can be found in Angels by Robbie Williams.
Building scales and arpeggios around the C chord/shape
There’s more you can do with the C shape than just build chords — it can also form the basis for arpeggios and scales.
We can turn it into a maj7 or dom7 arpeggio, a major pentatonic, or play modes like the major scale (Ionian), Lydian, and Mixolydian.
Below are all the intervals used to build these arpeggios and scales around the C-shaped chord.
If you can see all the intervals around the chord shape, you can play every one of these arpeggios and scales.
The C Chord | Related Pages
Guitar chords
Learn how to build all major and minor guitar chords using the so-called CAGED system.
This forms the foundation for extending chords into sus, 7th, and other variations, as well as building arpeggios and modes across the fretboard.
The Cm chord
The open-position Cm chord and shape are usually avoided by most guitar teachers and players — you’ll find it in very few tunes.
Being impossible to play in full, the Cm chord becomes the fork in the road for truly understanding the guitar fretboard.
Beginner Acoustic
This collection of beginner acoustic tunes will teach you how to arrange for one acoustic guitar, as well as how to create a supporting part.
Playing songs will help you switch between open-position chords and give you the context needed to understand how music works theoretically.