What notes are in the C# 9sus4 chord?

The C# 9sus4 chord contains the notes C# · F# · G# · B · D#: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7m, 9M 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# 9sus4 chord?

Measured from C#, the C# 9sus4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7m, 9M. 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# 9sus4 chord?

On guitar the most common C# 9sus4 shape is x44444, 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 · G#3 · B3 · D#4 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# 9sus4 Chord (C#9sus4): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	C#3 · F#3 · G#3 · B3 · D#4
Open (drop 2)	B2 · C#3 · F#3 · G#3 · D#4
Shell	C#3 · F#3 · B3
Rootless	F#3 · B3 · D#4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

C# 9sus4 (C#9sus4) contains the notes C# · F# · G# · B · D#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of C# 9sus4 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# 9sus4 belongs to.

In which keys

C# 9sus4 is diatonic to 6 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

E majorVI9sus4Tonic
C# minorI9sus4Tonic
B majorII9sus4Subdominant
G# minorIV9sus4Subdominant
F# majorV9sus4Dominant
D# minorVII9sus4Subdominant

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

C# 9sus4 fits inside these scales, each built on C#.

C# MinorC# · D# · E · F# · G# · A · B
C# DorianC# · D# · E · F# · G# · A# · B
C# MixolydianC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# PiongioC# · D# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# Mixolydian b6C# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A · B
C# BebopC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B · B#
C# Bebop MinorC# · D# · E · E# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# Minor BebopC# · D# · E · F# · G# · A · B · B#

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with C# 9sus4: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

C#7sus4C# · F# · G# · B
C#sus24C# · D# · F# · G#
C#sus4C# · F# · G#
C#sus2C# · D# · G#
C#5C# · G#

Richer

C#m11C# · E · G# · B · D# · F#
C#13sus4C# · F# · G# · B · D# · A#

9sus4 on every root

C9sus4 Db9sus4 D9sus4 D#9sus4 Eb9sus4 E9sus4 F9sus4 F#9sus4 Gb9sus4 G9sus4 G#9sus4 Ab9sus4 A9sus4 A#9sus4 Bb9sus4 B9sus4

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C# 9sus4 chord

Names and symbols

C#9sus4 is the chord symbol for C# 9sus4; it is also written C#9sus.

sus on its own means sus4, and 7sus means 7sus4. sus2 is sometimes written add9(no3), which names the same notes from another angle.

C# 9sus4 and Db 9sus4 are the same sound spelled two ways; both have a page here, and each links to the other. Db 9sus4

Common questions

What notes are in the C# 9sus4 chord?: The C# 9sus4 chord contains the notes C# · F# · G# · B · D#: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7m, 9M 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# 9sus4 chord?: Measured from C#, the C# 9sus4 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 4P, 5P, 7m, 9M. 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# 9sus4 chord?: On guitar the most common C# 9sus4 shape is x44444, 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 · G#3 · B3 · D#4 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.