Mandolin Chords, the C Major

There are many positions (ways, variants etc.) to play the C major (triad) mandolin chord.

In this article you can find the most common chord positions – displayed on the slideshow above, fingered for your convenience.

To help you understand how to play them, I have included step-by-step instructions, describing where to place each finger and what note this will produce. Finally, the article includes a chord chart with all possible chord positions for future reference, feel free to print it.

What is a C major chord?

The C major is a triad chord, i.e. it consists of three notes as following:

The root, which for the C chord is of course C
The third, which for the C chord is E. Note that this creates a major third interval that consists of four half steps (C to Db, Db to D, D to Eb, Eb to E)
The fifth, which for the C chord is G. Note that this creates a minor third interval that consists of three half steps (E to F, F to Gb, Gb to G)

Note that half steps correspond to one fret difference between notes played on the same string.

See how the C major chord is written on sheet paper:

If you want to understand more on chords theory, i.e. how they are constructed, check out the following popular article I have written some time ago: Understanding Chords Theory.

If you need a blank sheet paper to write it down in order to understand it, you can download one from theMandolinTuner free blank music paper sheet.

Two-finger C/G “open” Major Chord

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

Index finger on 2nd fret of third string
Second finger on 3rd fret of second string.
Leave first and fourth string pairs un-fretted.

Note that because the first note is G, we call this chord C/G, meaning that this is a C Major with the first note being G.

Four finger C Major mandolin chord

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

Fourth finger on 5th fret of fourth string.
Index finger on 2nd fret of third string.
Second finger on 3rd fret of second string.
Third finger on 3rd fret of first string.

Note that because the first note is C, we call this chord (just) C, meaning that this is a C Major with the first note being C.

Four finger C Major mandolin chord, higher on the fretboard

This is how you place your left hand on the fretboard:

Second finger on 5th fret of fourth string.
Third finger on 5th fret of third string.
Fourth finger on 7th fret of second string.
First finger on 3rd fret of first string.

Note that because the first note is C, we call this chord (just) C, meaning that this is a C Major with the first note being C.

C Major Mandolin Chord Variants

As with all chords, there are many variants of the C Major chord for the mandolin. I have included nice-looking photorealistic descriptions of the four most common ones on top of this article for your convenience. Nevertheless, if you want to explore more, see below a Chord Sheet that presents all eight variants for you to practice.

How to Practice chords on the mandolin

There are many good articles here at theMandolinTuner for practicing chords. I suggest you start with:

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Ok, it is now time to practice. Grab your mandolin and play these chords, you can make it!

Resources

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