C♯ added 9th chord

Playing it

There’s no open-string way to play C♯add9 on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 1st fret (x41121).

On piano, C♯add9 has three black keys (C♯, G♯ and D♯) and one white key. In root position it spans more than an octave, so many pianists play the root with the left hand and the rest with the right.

On ukulele the usual C♯add9 shape is 1314, using four fingers.

Related chords

Move a single note and C♯add9 becomes a different chord: drop the D♯ for C♯, swap D♯ for B for C♯7, swap D♯ for B♯ for C♯maj7 and drop the E♯ for C♯sus2.

Where you’ll hear it

Notice the E♯ in C♯add9 (C♯ E♯ G♯ D♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (C–E–G–D), so the major 3rd has to be written E♯ rather than F — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.