Sevenths
C♯ minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
C♯m7 is the ii7 chord in B major, iii7 in A major and vi7 in E major. In minor keys: i7 in C♯ minor and iv7 in G♯ minor.
- Notes
- C♯EG♯B
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play C♯m7
About the C♯ minor 7th chord
C♯m7 is the vi7 of E major and the ii7 of B, common in pop and R&B in those keys.
Playing it
On guitar, C♯m7 has an open-position shape, x42400, using three fingers alongside the open strings. Don’t strum the low E string.
On piano, C♯m7 has two black keys (C♯ and G♯) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual C♯m7 shape is 1102, using three fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form E (E G♯ B) — so you can think of C♯m7 as E with C♯ added underneath.
C♯m7 contains exactly the same notes as E6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and C♯m7 becomes a different chord: drop the B for C♯m, raise E to E♯ for C♯7, lower B to A♯ for C♯m6 and swap E for F♯ for C♯7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find C♯m7 in common progressions such as C♯m7–F♯7–Bmaj7 (the jazz cadence in B major).
