C# — C# major chord
Root, major third and perfect fifth. The default three-note chord.
- 1 = C#
- 3 = E#
- 5 = G#
- Symbol
- C#
- Root
- C#
- Quality
- Major
- Family
- triad
- Notes
- C# E# G#
- Degree formula
1 3 5- Semitones from the root
0 4 7- Distinct pitch classes
- 3
- Interval structure
- Stacked from the root: 4 semitones, 3 semitones
- Notation
- Written as the bare letter name, for example C.
- 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 |
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# | 0 4 7 |
| first inversion | E# | 3 | E# – G# – C# | 0 3 8 |
| second inversion | G# | 5 | G# – C# – E# | 0 5 9 |
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 | 9-11-11-10-9-9 | C# G# C# F G# C# | 1 5 1 3 5 1 | C# | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | 9-8-6-6-6-9 | C# F G# C# F C# | 1 3 5 1 3 1 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 9-8-6-6-9-9 | C# F G# C# G# C# | 1 3 5 1 5 1 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 9-8-11-10-9-9 | C# F C# F G# C# | 1 3 1 3 5 1 | C# | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | 9-8-6-10-6-9 | C# F G# F F C# | 1 3 5 3 3 1 | C# | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | 9-8-6-10-9-9 | C# F G# F G# C# | 1 3 5 3 5 1 | C# | 4 | 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
Related
- KeyKey of C#
- ScaleC# major
- ChordC#m — Minor
- ChordC#maj7 — Major seventh
- ChordC#6 — Sixth
- ChordC#sus4 — Suspended fourth
- ChordBbm — Minor
- ChordC#aug — Augmented