Key of C and the C Major Scale on Guitar
Updated 2024
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The key of C major is often considered the most accessible and fundamental key for musicians, particularly guitarists. Including no sharps or flats, it serves as a perfect starting point for beginners. The C major scale, consisting of the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, provides a rich palette for creating melodies and harmonies.
Sections:
What Does “Key of C” Mean?
Key of C and the C Major Scale
What Does it Mean to Play Guitar in the Key of C (Major)
How to Play the C Major Scale on Guitar
More Keys and Scales
What Does “Key of C” Mean?
When musicians refer to the “Key of C”, they mean the key of C major.
The difference between C major and C minor is the major key may simply be the letter name “C” and can sometimes be clarified as “C major”, but the minor key always has minor in the name “C minor”.
Here are common examples:
C = C major
C major = C major
Cm = C minor
C minor = C minor
So how are keys and scales related?
Key of C and the C Major Scale
Key signatures tell us which notes in a key are sharp or flat. C major in traditional notation has no sharps and no flats. This means the notes included are “natural” notes.
The notes in the scale tell us what notes make up the chords in the key of C. These are called diatonic chords since they are chords from notes naturally occurring in the major scale.
Without getting into theory, the major scale is a set pattern for choosing notes. Those notes are then used to make three-note chords, called triads.
Interested in learning more about the major scale formula? Read this post: A Complete Rundown of the Major Scale Formula
As you can see, the C major scale and the chords in the key of C are directly related.
What Does it Mean to Play Guitar in the Key of C (Major)
When you play in the key of C, you are typically only playing notes in the C major scale (diatonic chords). This can mean two different things depending on if you’re playing rhythm guitar or lead guitar.
We won’t cover the actual chords here, as those are covered in this post: How to Play Guitar Chords in the Key of C. Instead we’ll cover more of the theory side of how and why these specific chords and notes are played in the key of C.
Rhythm Guitar
For rhythm guitar, playing in the key of C means you are playing the following chords that revolve around C as the tonal center.
C (C major)
Dm (D minor)
Em (E minor)
F (F major)
G (G major)
Am (A minor)
Bº (B diminished)
Let’s list out the notes in each chord (triad) to double check we’re only using notes from the C major scale.
C (C, E, G)
Dm (D, F, A)
Em (E, G, B)
F (F, A, C)
G (G, B, D)
Am (A, C, E)
Bº (B, D, F)
All of these notes are within the C major scale, so we’re good to go.
Lead Guitar
For lead guitarists, playing in the key of C major means you are playing the same notes contained in the scale but not necessarily in chord form. In other words, you’re mostly playing single notes, maybe some diads (two notes at a time), and an occasional triad (three notes at a time, also known as chords).
Lead guitar is typically a melody instrument just like a vocalist, playing one note after the other to form a melody.
Playing in the key of C means that you’re playing notes in the C major scale.
C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
Which notes you choose to play with which chords, however, is an entirely different topic I’ll have to cover at another time.
How to Play the C Major Scale on Guitar
When we play in the key of C, the starting note of the corresponding scale is C. This means we can start on C and follow the major scale formula. Don’t worry, it doesn’t involve any math. The major scale formula is simply a pattern of whole and half steps (2 or 1 frets respectively) that help us choose the correct notes to include in the key.
Here’s a refresher.
Major scale formula: W W H W W W H
Go up this many frets: 2 2 1 2 2 2 1
If you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation complete with diagrams, examples, and practice questions, feel free to read this detailed post on the major scale formula before continuing.
For a detailed explanation of steps between notes, read this post: Everything You Need to Know About Guitar Notes and the Musical Alphabet.
Let’s start with C and follow the pattern to make sure we select the correct notes. We’ll use the B string starting on the first fret so we have a lot of room on the fretboard to work with.
Beginning with the C note on the B string, we go up a whole step (2 frets) to D. Then another whole step (2 frets) to E.
From E we go up a half step (1 fret) to F.
From F we go up a whole step to G.
From G a whole step to A.
From A a whole step to B.
Finally, we need to return to the same note that we started with, which is a half step up from B, ending on C at the 13th fret.
The C major scale on a guitar fretboard (B string)
Notice the distances between each of the notes as we continue up the fretboard. They follow the pattern of the major scale formula and we end up at C again on the 13th fret. Now that we know the notes, C D E F G A B and C, we know that each of these notes has a corresponding chord.
The next question we need to ask is, “What are the chord tonalities of each of these chords?” In other words, how do we know which ones are major, which ones are minor, and which ones are diminished?
Read about the types of chords (chord tonalities in this post: Chord Tonalities for Every Major Key.
See how to play all the chords in the key of C major in this post: How to Play Guitar Chords in the Key of C.
The key of C major is often considered the most accessible and fundamental key for musicians, particularly guitarists. Including no sharps or flats, it serves as a perfect starting point for beginners. The C major scale, consisting of the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, provides a rich palette for creating melodies and harmonies.