What notes are in the C# 4 chord?

The C# 4 chord contains the notes C# · F# · B · E: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the C# 4 chord?

Measured from C#, the C# 4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the C# 4 chord?

On guitar the most common C# 4 shape is x42422, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play C#3 · F#3 · B3 · E4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

C# 4 Chord (C#4): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

Loading the keyboard…

Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	C#3 · F#3 · B3 · E4
Open (drop 2)	B2 · C#3 · F#3 · E4
Shell	C#3 · F#3 · B3
Rootless	F#3 · B3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C# 4 (C#4) contains the notes C# · F# · B · E, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords

Inversions

An inversion of C# 4 puts a chord tone other than C# in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales C# 4 belongs to.

In which keys

C# 4 is diatonic to 8 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

D majorVII4Dominant
B minorII4Subdominant
A majorIII4Tonic
F# minorV4Dominant
E majorVI4Tonic
C# minorI4Tonic
B majorII4Subdominant
G# minorIV4Subdominant

Scales that contain it

C# 4 fits inside these scales, each built on C#.

C# Minor PentatonicC# · E · F# · G# · B
C# Minor BluesC# · E · F# · G · G# · B
C# MinorC# · D# · E · F# · G# · A · B
C# DorianC# · D# · E · F# · G# · A# · B
C# PhrygianC# · D · E · F# · G# · A · B
C# LocrianC# · D · E · F# · G · A · B
C# Malkos RagaC# · E · F# · A · B
C# Locrian PentatonicC# · E · F# · G · B

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C# 4: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Richer

C#m11C# · E · G# · B · D# · F#
C#m7add11C# · E · G# · B · F#

4 on every root

C4 Db4 D4 D#4 Eb4 E4 F4 F#4 G4 G#4 Ab4 A4 A#4 Bb4 B4

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C# 4 chord

Names and symbols

C#4 is the chord symbol for C# 4; it is also written C#quartal.

C# 4 and Db 4 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Db 4

Common questions

What notes are in the C# 4 chord?: The C# 4 chord contains the notes C# · F# · B · E: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally C#, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the C# 4 chord?: Measured from C#, the C# 4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 7m, 10m. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the C# 4 chord?: On guitar the most common C# 4 shape is x42422, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play C#3 · F#3 · B3 · E4 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.