C/G Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

C/G means “C with G in the bass”: play a C major chord and make G the lowest note. Because G is already in the chord (its fifth), this is the second inversion of C.

The notes, low to high, are G, C, E. The library above opens on C/G with 14 shapes that keep G at the bottom; tap one to hear it.

Notes in C/G

Note	Degree	Interval from C	Semitones
C	1	root	0
E	3	major third	4
G	5 (bass)	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – 3 – 5.

How to play C/G

Open positionBeginner3320xx

Open positionBeginnerxxx010

Fret 5Beginnerxx555x

E-shape barre at fret 3Easy33555x

Fret 9Beginnerx(10)(10)9xx

Fret 12Beginnerxxx(12)(13)(12)

Open position (bass on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 4th string, 2nd fret (E, the major third).
2nd finger (middle): 6th string, 3rd fret (G, the fifth).
3rd finger (ring): 5th string, 3rd fret (C, the root).
Let the 3rd string ring open (G).
Strum from the 6th string, and keep the 2nd string and 1st string quiet (touch the muted string lightly with the finger next to it).

How C/G is used

With the fifth in the bass, C/G sounds like a chord on its way somewhere. In the classic “C over G” move it often sits between two chords whose bass notes are a step away.

In C major, Am – C/G – F walks the bass down step by step (A, G, F) while the chords on top change. Played the other way, F – C/G – Am, the bass climbs.

When a chord sheet writes C/G, play the chord on top and let G be the lowest string you strum; if you play with a bass player, the bass plays G.