Triads
C♯ major chord
Bright, stable and resolved — the foundation of most songs.
C♯ is the I chord in D♭ major, IV in A♭ major and V in F♯ major. In minor keys: III in B♭ minor, V in F♯ minor, VI in F minor and VII in E♭ minor.
- Notes
- C♯E♯G♯
- Formula
- 135
- Built from
- root · major 3rd · perfect 5th
How to play C♯
About the C♯ major chord
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play C♯ on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 4th fret (x46664).
On piano, C♯ has two black keys (C♯ and G♯) and one white key.
On ukulele the usual C♯ shape is 1114, using four fingers.
Related chords
C♯ shares two of its three notes with A♯m (C♯ and E♯), its relative minor, and with E♯m (E♯ and G♯). That overlap is why these chords sound so natural next to each other — and why they can often stand in for one another.
Move a single note and C♯ becomes a different chord: lower E♯ to E for C♯m, add B for C♯7, add B♯ for C♯maj7 and raise E♯ to F♯ for C♯sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find C♯ in common progressions such as C♯–G♯–A♯m–F♯ (the pop progression in C♯ major), C♯–F♯–G♯–F♯ (three-chord rock in C♯ major) and C♯–A♯m–F♯–G♯ (the ’50s progression in C♯ major).
Notice the E♯ in C♯ (C♯ E♯ G♯): each note of the chord takes its own letter (C–E–G), so the major 3rd has to be written E♯ rather than F — the same key on a piano, spelled to fit the chord.
