Shape characteristics
Barre chord
Your first finger flattens across multiple strings at the same fret. Movable up and down the neck to any key without changing the shape.
Mid-neck · fret 7-8
Balanced tone, with neither the ringing openness of first position nor the bright snap of the upper register. Common choice for rhythm work when you want a fuller, more compact sound.
Full six-string voicing
All six strings ring, giving you the biggest, most resonant version of this chord, ideal for strumming and solo acoustic contexts.
Bass: C · Top: C
The root is in the bass, so the chord sounds grounded and stable. This is the natural starting voicing for most progressions.
Compared to Shape 800780 , this voicing uses an open chord.
How to play this shape
- 1 Place the 1st finger on the 7th fret of the 3rd string, 4th string, and 5th string in barre position
- 2 Place the 2nd finger on the 8th fret of the 6th string
- 3 Place the 3rd finger on the 8th fret of the 2nd string
- 4 Place the 4th finger on the 8th fret of the 1st string
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "877788" mean?
The sequence 877788 is a highly compact guitar chord notation. It represents the fret played on each of the 6 strings, reading left-to-right from the thickest (lowest pitch) string to the thinnest (highest pitch) string: E, A, D, G, B, e.
- x means the string is muted or skipped entirely.
- 0 means the string is played "open" (without pressing over a fret).
- 1-9 represent standard fret numbers 1 to 9.
- a, b, c... represent frets 10, 11, 12, and higher (where a=10, b=11, c=12).
Can I play this C6 add 9 shape anywhere else?
Yes! This specific layout is just one way to voice a C6 add 9 chord. You can find all other variations in our chord shape library for C6 add 9. Most guitarists choose different shapes based on whether they want a "brighter" or "deeper" sound, or which chord they are transitioning from.
Other shapes
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