C#6 — C# sixth chord
A major triad with the sixth added. Contains the same notes as the minor seventh chord a minor third below it.
- 1 = C#
- 3 = E#
- 5 = G#
- 6 = A#
- Symbol
- C#6
- Root
- C#
- Quality
- Sixth
- Family
- added
- Notes
- C# E# G# A#
- Degree formula
1 3 5 6- Semitones from the root
0 4 7 9- Distinct pitch classes
- 4
- Interval structure
- Stacked from the root: 4 semitones, 3 semitones, 2 semitones
- Notation
- Written 6. Common as a tonic chord in jazz and swing, and in country and western accompaniment.
- Key
- C# · C# major / A# minor key signature
Formula
The chord tones in order from the root, with the interval each one forms above it.
| Degree | Note | Semitones | Interval from the root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C# | 0 | Perfect unison |
| 3 | E# | 4 | Major third |
| 5 | G# | 7 | Perfect fifth |
| 6 | A# | 9 | Major sixth |
Inversions
An inversion is the same set of notes with a different one in the bass. The last column gives the distance of each note above the bass note, in semitones.
| Inversion | Bass note | Degree in the bass | Notes above the bass | Semitones above the bass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| root position | C# | 1 | C# – E# – G# – A# | 0 4 7 9 |
| first inversion | E# | 3 | E# – G# – A# – C# | 0 3 5 8 |
| second inversion | G# | 5 | G# – A# – C# – E# | 0 2 5 9 |
| third inversion | A# | 6 | A# – C# – E# – G# | 0 3 7 10 |
Playable voicings
These shapes were found by searching the fretboard of a standard-tuned guitar (E A D G B E) rather than copied from a chord book. The search allows every string to sound or to be muted, rejects any shape with a muted string between two sounding strings, rejects any shape whose fretted notes span more than four frets (a five-fret window), requires every chord tone to be present, and then sorts what remains with root-position shapes first and the most compact, lowest shapes next. The shapes shown are the first six of that ordering; other orderings are possible at the same frets.
| # | Shape (low string first) | Notes | Degrees | Bass | Span (frets) | Sounding strings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9-8-8-10-9-9 | C# F A# F G# C# | 1 3 6 3 5 1 | C# | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 9-11-11-10-11-9 | C# G# C# F A# C# | 1 5 1 3 6 1 | C# | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 9-8-6-6-6-6 | C# F G# C# F A# | 1 3 5 1 3 6 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 9-8-6-6-9-6 | C# F G# C# G# A# | 1 3 5 1 5 6 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | 9-8-8-6-9-6 | C# F A# C# G# A# | 1 3 6 1 5 6 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | 9-8-8-6-9-9 | C# F A# C# G# C# | 1 3 6 1 5 1 | C# | 3 | 6 |
Shape numbers run from the lowest string to the highest, so the left-hand number is the sixth string (low E) in standard tuning. Multiple shapes are listed because a chord can be voiced several ways, and because a lower position is not always the better sounding one.
Related chords and scales
- KeyEverything in C#
- ScaleC# major
- ChordBbm7
Related
- KeyKey of C#
- ScaleC# major
- ChordBbm7 — Minor seventh
- ChordC#add9 — Added ninth
- ChordC#m6 — Minor sixth
- ChordC#11 — Dominant eleventh
- DegreesC# — degree map
- Neck mapC# — note map