You could also add the G on the 6th or low E string at the third fret by placing the 3rd finger on that fret. This would then require that the fourth finger, or pinky, be placed on the 3rd fret of the 5th, or A, string. This would result in the following voicing of the C major chord: G + C + E + G + C + E. Oftentimes, this voicing is indicated in guitar chord notation as a C/G chord. This same logic also applies to a voicing of the C chord that includes the low E note on the 6th string which would result in E + C + E + G + C + E. The chord might then be notated as a C/E chord. The reason we mute the lower string on most occasions is that the resulting voicing sounds better (to most of us anyway) because the placing of the C note in the lowest register results in a strong C chord sound. In other words, the chord sounds very C major which is what we want (most of the time). However, there are circumstances where an alternate voicing of the C major chord may actually sound better. To round out this discussion I'll cite yet another voicing of a C major chord. This one is voiced as C + E + G + C + G. Its fingering is shown above as Figure 2. Alternating this voicing with the voicing in Figure 1 while strumming a rhythm creates a more harmonically interesting rhythm. We'll delve deeper into this concept in a later lesson when we explore chord substitutions.