C♯7 chord
C♯7 is C♯, E♯, G♯ and B: 1–3–5–♭7 built on C♯. See and hear it on all three instruments below.
On guitar
x-4-6-4-6-4 · barre · medium
- Notes
- C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · B
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-4-6-4-6-4
C♯7 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · C♯–E♯–G♯–B · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · B
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
C♯7 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
1-1-1-2 · movable · medium
- Notes
- C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · B
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 1-1-1-2
C♯7 and the chords around it
The moves below are the ones you'll meet most, shown for guitar and piano.
- C♯7 → F♯ (the V7 pulls home a fifth below)
Guitar: C♯7 (x-4-6-4-6-4) to F♯ (2-4-4-3-2-2): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 2nd fret, your middle finger lands on the G string, 3rd fret, move the ring finger to the A string, 4th fret, the pinky finger comes down on the D string, 4th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. C♯ carries over from one chord to the other.
Piano: C♯7 to F♯: play F♯ in 2nd inversion (C♯–F♯–A♯) and C♯ stays under the same finger, while E♯ moves up to F♯ and B down to A♯. F♯ - C♯7 → F♯maj7 (I in F♯ major)
Guitar: C♯7 (x-4-6-4-6-4) to F♯maj7 (2-4-3-3-2-2): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 2nd fret, your middle finger lands on the D string, 3rd fret, move the ring finger to the G string, 3rd fret, the pinky finger comes down on the A string, 4th fret. Everything moves: lift the whole hand and place the new shape in one go. Listen for C♯ and E♯, which stay put while the rest moves.
Piano: C♯7 to F♯maj7: play F♯maj7 in 2nd inversion (C♯–E♯–F♯–A♯) and C♯ and E♯ stay under the same fingers, while G♯ moves down to F♯ and B down to A♯. F♯maj7 - C♯7 → E♭m7 (vi in F♯ major)
Guitar: C♯7 (x-4-6-4-6-4) to E♭m7 (x-x-1-3-2-2): the index finger goes to the D string, 1st fret, the middle finger goes to the B string, 2nd fret, move the ring finger to the high E string, 2nd fret, the pinky finger comes down on the G string, 3rd fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. The two chords share C♯, which is why the change sounds smooth.
Piano: C♯7 to E♭m7: play E♭m7 in 3rd inversion (D♭–E♭–G♭–B♭) and D♭ stays under the same finger, while E♯ moves down to E♭, G♯ down to G♭ and B down to B♭. E♭m7
Guitar with a capo: capo 1, C7 shape; capo 2, B7 shape; capo 4, A7 shape; capo 6, G7 shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, C7 shape; capo 2, B7 shape; capo 4, A7 shape; capo 6, G7 shape.
How C♯7 is built
C♯7 is a dominant seventh chord: a major triad with a flattened seventh on top. It sounds restless and wants to move, most strongly to F♯, the chord a fifth below. It is also the backbone of the blues, where every chord can be a seventh.
Count keys (black and white) from C♯: 4 half steps up to E♯, 3 half steps up to G♯ then 3 half steps up to B. You may also see it as D♭7: same keys, same frets.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| C♯ | root | 0 | |
| E♯ | major third | 4 | |
| G♯ | perfect fifth | 7 | |
| B | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with C♯7
In major keys, C♯7 is V7 in F♯ major. In minor keys it is V7 in F♯ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in E♭ minor.
D♭7 – D♭7 – D♭7 – D♭7 – G♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7 – D♭7 – A♭7 – G♭7 – D♭7 – A♭7: that's I7–IV7–V7 (12 bars) in the key of D♭ major. the 12-bar blues
In F♯ major, ii–V–I is G♯m7 – C♯7 – F♯maj7. the jazz cadence
Chords close to C♯7
- C♯7 is C♯ plus B. C♯
- C♯7 and C♯maj7 differ by one note: B in C♯7, B♯ in C♯maj7. They share C♯, E♯ and G♯. C♯maj7
Chords that share most of their notes with C♯7: C♯9, C♯, Fdim, C♯maj7, C♯m7, C♯add9.
Every C♯ chord
C♯7 chord: questions
What notes are in the C♯7 chord?
C♯, E♯, G♯ and B. C♯7 is built 1–3–5–♭7 from C♯: E♯ is the major third, G♯ is the perfect fifth and B is the minor seventh.
How do you play C♯7 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-4-6-4-6-4 (barre). All 3 guitar shapes.
How do you play C♯7 on piano?
Play C♯, E♯, G♯ and B with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. C♯ sits on the black key between C and D. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play C♯7 on ukulele?
1-1-1-2 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is C♯7 in?
In major keys, C♯7 is V7 in F♯ major. In minor keys it is V7 in F♯ minor (borrowing the raised 7th) and VII7 in E♭ minor.
What's the difference between C♯7 and C♯?
C♯7 is C♯ plus B.
All three instruments are drawn and played from C♯, E♯, G♯ and B by the same engine. Updated September 2026.