Key of C Cheat Sheet! Notes, Chords, Fretboard, and Misc Tricks

Lesson #388 • Sep 19, 2021

Video lesson

Instructional PDF 8 pages

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Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

To download the PDF, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

Hey there, friends! Lesson today where I deep dive into the Key of C, and give an overview of everything worth knowing about when playing anything in this key. I’ll start with showing the notes in the C major scale, explain the seven diatonic chords used in the Key of C, show some common chord progressions, show a map of the fretboard, and finally get into a handful of miscellaneous tips & tricks that are unique to Key of C on the guitar.

The PDF I made to accompany this lesson is 8 pages, and has several links out to previous lessons I’ve made which diver deeper on several topics I cover. My goal is, for whatever you are or may play in the future using the Key of C, to arm you with a single bundle of info to give a lay of the land within that key.

Video timestamps:

  • 0:00 Overview & Lesson Summary
  • 2:45 Notes & Chords in the Key of C
  • 5:50 Common Chord Progressions
  • 8:14 Alterate Ways to Play Common Chords
  • 13:21 Key of C Fretboard Maps
  • 17:25 Quick Tips: F Chord, Walk-Downs, & more
  • 26:31 Adding Easy Flourish with One Finger
  • 29:57 Song Lessons I’ve Made in Key of C

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Hey there! My name is David Potsiadlo, and I'm the creator of the 400+ weekly lessons here at Song Notes, going back to 2013. Here’s my guitar story »

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