Piano Guidance
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk Pexels Logo Photo: Pavel Danilyuk

What does C+ mean in music?

The C+ chord is made up of three notes – C, E, and G#. If you're new to chords, the '+' means 'augmented' and the chord is also referred to as the 'Caug chord', 'Caug triad', 'C augmented chord', or 'C augmented triad'. And you may notice that it's the same as the C Chord, but with a G# instead of G.

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The C+ chord is made up of three notes – C, E, and G#. If you’re new to chords, the ‘+’ means ‘augmented’ and the chord is also referred to as the ‘Caug chord’, ‘Caug triad’, ‘C augmented chord’, or ‘C augmented triad’. And you may notice that it’s the same as the C Chord, but with a G# instead of G.

You can actually play a C+ chord on piano in three ways:

Root Position – This is where the C note is the lowest note of the chord note is the lowest note of the chord First Inversion – This is where the E note is the lowest note of the chord note is the lowest note of the chord Second Inversion – This is where the G# note is the lowest note of the chord I’ll quickly explain this in some more detail, with images and audio clips below.

C+ Chord Piano – Root Position

Whenever you play a C+ chord on piano, and C is the lowest note, that’s known as root position. It looks like this:

C+ Chord Piano – Root Position

There are seven places on a standard piano where you can play a C+ chord in root position. If you have a piano close by, try playing each one. Below you’ll see what all seven look like on sheet music. Click the play button if you’d like to hear what they sound like too.

C+ Chord Piano – First Inversion

Whenever you play a C+ chord on piano, and E is the lowest note, that’s known as the first inversion. It looks like this:

C+ Chord Piano – First Inversion

And here it is played in all places on a standard piano. You’ll notice that there are seven of these too.

C+ Chord Piano – Second Inversion

Whenever you play a C+ chord on piano, and G# is the lowest note, that’s known as the second inversion. It looks like this:

C+ Chord Piano – Second Inversion

And here is the second inversion played in all places on a standard piano. There are six of these. And that’s about all for this post. I hope you enjoyed learning about the C+ chord. If you did, you may enjoy learning more about the theory behind augmented chords.

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What's the most common key?

While doing the demo, he told us the three most popular keys. The third most popular is... the "backspace" key. The second most popular is... the letter "e". The number one most popular is... the space bar.

Pop quiz: What are the three most popular keys on a computer's keyboard?

Microsoft's Senior Product Marketing Manger for Hardware Suneel Goud was at our office showing us some of the company's ergonomic keyboards.

While doing the demo, he told us the three most popular keys.

The third most popular is... the "backspace" key.

The second most popular is... the letter "e".

The number one most popular is... the space bar.

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