C♯ minor chord (C♯m)

C♯m is C♯, E and G♯: 1–♭3–5 built on C♯. Here it is on guitar, piano and ukulele. Tap Play on any of them.

On guitar

C♯m on guitar: every shape, finger by finger

On piano

C♯m on piano: fingering and inversions

On ukulele

C♯m on ukulele: all shapes

Where C♯m usually goes next

Here's what the hand does on the most common changes, on guitar and on piano.

• C♯m → F♯ (V in B major)
  Guitar: C♯m (x-4-6-6-5-4) 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. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. C♯ carries over from one chord to the other.
  Piano: C♯m to F♯: play F♯ in 2nd inversion (C♯–F♯–A♯) and C♯ stays under the same finger, while E moves up to F♯ and G♯ up to A♯. F♯
• C♯m → E (IV in B major)
  Guitar: C♯m (x-4-6-6-5-4) to E (0-2-2-1-0-0): the index finger goes to the G string, 1st fret, the middle finger goes to the A string, 2nd fret, your ring finger lands on the D string, 2nd fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. E and G♯ carry over from one chord to the other.
  Piano: C♯m to E: play E in 2nd inversion (B–E–G♯) and E and G♯ stay under the same fingers, while C♯ moves down to B. E
• C♯m → B (I in B major)
  Guitar: C♯m (x-4-6-6-5-4) to B (x-2-4-4-4-2): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 2nd fret, your middle finger lands on the D string, 4th fret, the ring finger goes to the G string, 4th fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit.
  Piano: C♯m to B: play B in root position (B–D♯–F♯), while C♯ moves down to B, E down to D♯ and G♯ down to F♯. B

Guitar with a capo: capo 4, Am shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, Cm shape; capo 2, Bm shape; capo 4, Am shape.

How C♯m is built

C♯m has the gentle, slightly melancholy sound of a minor chord. It is home base in C♯ minor and a common guest in major keys.

From C♯, go 3 half steps up to E then 4 half steps up to G♯. D♭m is the other spelling of the same chord.

Keys and progressions with C♯m

You'll find C♯m as ii in B major, iii in A major and vi in E major. On the minor side it's i in C♯ minor, iv in G♯ minor and v in F♯ minor.

• B major
• A major
• E major
• C♯ minor
• G♯ minor
• F♯ minor

C♯m – A – E – B: that's i–VI–III–VII in the key of C♯ minor. the minor anthem

In C♯ minor, i–iv–V is C♯m – F♯m – G♯ – C♯m. the minor cadence

i–VII–VI–V in C♯ minor runs C♯m – B – A – G♯. the Andalusian cadence

Play i–VII–VI–VII in C♯ minor and you get C♯m – B – A – B. the epic minor loop

Chords close to C♯m

• C♯m and C♯ differ by one note: E in C♯m, E♯ in C♯. They share C♯ and G♯. C♯
• C♯m and E differ by one note: C♯ in C♯m, B in E. They share E and G♯. E

Chords that share most of their notes with C♯m: C♯m7, C♯m6, E6, Amaj7, B♭m7♭5, F♯9.

Every C♯ chord

• C♯
• C♯7
• C♯maj7
• C♯m7
• C♯sus4
• C♯sus2
• C♯add9
• C♯dim
• D♭aug
• C♯6
• C♯m6
• C♯9
• C♯dim7
• C♯m7♭5

Every diagram on this page is generated from the notes C♯, E and G♯ and checked automatically so the sound matches the drawing. Updated September 2026.