C# Chord on the Guitar (C Shape Major) - Diagrams, Finger Positions, Theory (2024)

The C# Major chord is one of the most common and popular chords on the guitar. The open C# chord is one of the first chords that most guitarists learn, and it has been used in countless songs across many genres.

Some Quick C# Chord Theory

The C# Major chord contains the notes C#, E# and G#.
The C# Major chord is produced by playing the 1st (root), 3rd and 5th notes of the C# Major scale.
The C# Major chord (just like all Major chords) contains the following intervals (from the root note): Major 3rd, minor 3rd, Perfect 4th (back to the root note).
The C# Major chord is the first chord in the key of C# Major. The seven chords in the key of C# Major are: C#, D#m, E#, F#, G#, A#, B# diminished.

10 Ways To Play The C# Major Chord

If you’ve come to this page just to view some chord diagrams for C#, here they are.

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Standard C# Chord Shape

The most common way to play the C# chord essentially the root-5 C# barre chord, played on the fourth fret. Often, as in the example below, the first finger does not actually form a barre, but instead simply plays the root note.

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Easy C# Chord Shape

The easy version of the C# chord is played on the first three strings of the guitar. Learning this simplified shape can be a good way to start using the Bb chord if you find the barre chord versions too challenging. It is the same shape as the standard open D chord shape (without the open string) and moved down one fret (remember that C# is the same as Db).

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How to Play the C Sharp Major Chord (Step by Step)

Place your first finger on the fourth fret of the fifth string.
Place your second finger on the sixth fret of the fourth string.
Place your third finger on the sixth fret of the third string.
Place your fourth finger on the sixth fret of the second string.
Without strumming the sixth string, strum the first five strings.

The instructions above are step by step instructions for playing the most common C# Major chord shape. These instructions can actually be super helpful when you feel like you’re interpreting the shape incorrectly. By going through the C# chord instructions step by step, you can verify that you’re playing the chord correctly.

Barre Chord Shapes for C Sharp

The C# chord can be played as a barre chord by playing a root 6 barre chord shape and starting on the 9th fret or by playing a root 5 barre chord Major shape and starting on the 4th fret:

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C# Major Triads

Playing the C# chord using barre chord shapes is the most common way of playing the chord. However, it is also useful to explore the chord using triads (including inversions). The C sharp Major triad can be voiced in the following three ways:

C# Major Triad (Root Position) – C#, E#, G#
C# Major Triad (1st Inversion) – E#, G#, C#
C# Major Triad (2nd Inversion) – G#, C#, E#

Here are six different ways to play the C# Major triad (including inversions).

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Which Keys Have The C# Chord in Them?

The C# chord can be found in the following keys:

The key of C# Major (C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#, A#m, B#dim)
The key of G# Major (G#, A#m, B#m, C#, D#, E#m, Fxdim)
The key of F# Major (F#, G#m, A#m, B, C#, D#m, E#dim)
The key of A# minor (A#m, B#dim, C#, D#m, E#m, F#, G#)
The key of D# minor (D#m, E#dim, F#, G#m, A#m, B, C#)

Alternative But Useful C Sharp Chord Shapes

The following shapes are alternative ways of playing the C sharp Major chord shape. They’re not the most common C# shapes, but used enough to include here as interesting alternatives.

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C# Chord Substitutions

The C# chord can often be substituted with the C# sus 4 chord, the C# sus 2 chord and the C# add 9 chord. The C# chord can also be used itself as a substitute for more complicated chords, such as the C# Major 7 chord, the C#7 chord, and other extension chords which have C# as the root note (it can’t be used in place of minor chords though!).

Which Scales Can Be Played Over the C# chord?

The most common and effective scales that can be used to solo/improvise over the C# Major chord, or to create melodies for the purposes of song writing are:

C# Major scale – This is the ‘default scale’ of the C# chord.
C# Lydian mode – This scale can be used over the C# chord in certain contexts to add a jazz flavour.