Im sure I will be told if posting in wrong category. But can’t grasp that C is made from CEG when its CEC
You include all the note being played not just the fretted notes.
The G is the open G string. This is why you learn the note names of the open strings. This is also why they are called open chords when open strings are involved.
There are 3 notes that make up C, CEG. I understand G is open and high E is also open but strings that are fretted are CEC. I don’t understand why it’s CEG and not CEC, fretted AC#E make an A, sorry
It’s not what notes you fret that make a chord, it’s what notes get sounded! You’re strumming strings 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with 6 silent. The notes of those five strings, in order, are E, C, G, E, and C. Thus the C chord.
Thanks all, way to deep for me. Carry on.
Would it make sense it the O on the G string had a G in it and the O on the e string had and E in it.
those chord charts mean you put your fingers on the strings where the black dots are (note that these charts don’t tell you which fingers to place there, but some might) and play them. You play the strings with the O above them, but don’t put your fingers on them. You don’t play the string with the X on it at all (or you mute it so it doesn’t ring - that becomes relevant later). All the notes you are playing in the chord are at the bottom of the chord box. In this C chord, you are playing two different C notes, two different E notes, and 1 G note.
To make a chord, it is made up of three notes of a scale.
The 1st, 3rd, and 5th tones (notes) of a the C scale.
C scale.
CDEFGABC. The last C being a octave of the root.
You need to pick them three tones (notes) out of the scale.
They are
CEG to make the chord.
The CEC are the notes that you fret when playing the C chord so it sounds like a C chord.
imho, most charts use the fingers you place within them circles so ya know what finger to play which note with. This chart is just showing what fretted note is being played. There are better images of this chord available.
@Brewie That C chord picture is an “OPEN C chord”.
Bruce, there really isn’t anything at all deep about this.
You have learned that each major or minor chord can be spelled out using only its three constituent notes. That’s great. In the case of a C major chord it can be spelled as C, E, G.
When looking at the shape of open position chords and naming the notes, you name the notes on all strings that make up the chord when it is played. Due to the several different ‘shapes’ those notes can appear in different orders. They all contain at least one repeat of one or more notes. The order of notes can sometimes fall out of sequence.
Here are nine chord diagrams with all notes listed below the strings.




