What notes are in C#?

C# contains C# · E# · G#. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.

How do you build a major chord?

Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.

What is the difference between C# and a minor chord on the same root?

One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.

What notes are in the C# Major chord?

The C# Major chord contains the notes C# · E# · G#: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P 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# Major chord?

Measured from C#, the C# Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. 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.

C# Major Chord (C#): 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 · E#3 · G#3

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

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

Read on: how triads are built

Inversions

An inversion of C# Major 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# Major belongs to.

In which keys

C# Major is diatonic to 7 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

F# minorVDominant
F# majorVDominant
D# minorVIISubdominant
Db majorITonic
Bb minorIIITonic
Ab majorIVSubdominant
F minorVISubdominant

Scales that contain it

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

C# Major PentatonicC# · D# · E# · G# · A#
C# Major BluesC# · D# · E · E# · G# · A#
C# MajorC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B#
C# MixolydianC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A# · B
C# Phrygian DominantC# · D · E# · F# · G# · A · B
C# Harmonic MajorC# · D# · E# · F# · G# · A · B#
C# Ionian PentatonicC# · E# · F# · G# · B#
C# Mixolydian PentatonicC# · E# · F# · G# · B

Related chords

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

Simpler

C#5C# · G#

Richer

C#maj7C# · E# · G# · B#
C#7C# · E# · G# · B
C#6C# · E# · G# · A#
C#add9C# · E# · G# · D#
C#maj9C# · E# · G# · B# · D#
C#9C# · E# · G# · B · D#

Common substitutions

A#mA# · C# · E#
A#m is the relative minor: it shares two notes with C# and often stands in for it.
FmF · Ab · C
Fm shares two notes with C# and gives a softer tonic.

Major on every root

C Db D Eb E F F#Gb G G#Ab A Bb B

Open it in a tool

Understanding the C# Major chord

Names and symbols

C# is the chord symbol for C# Major; it is also written C#M, C#^, C#maj.

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

How it is built

On C# the major triad is C# · E# · G#, stacking the intervals 1P · 3M · 5P. The major third makes it sound bright; the perfect fifth makes it sound settled.

Change only the third and the chord turns minor. Everything the ear reads as "happy" or "sad" in a plain triad lives in that one note.

How it is used

It is the I chord of its own key and the tonic almost every progression eventually returns to. It also appears as the IV and V of its key, which is why three major triads are enough for a large share of folk, country and rock.

Inverted, it keeps its identity completely — C# with the third or fifth in the bass is still C#, just voiced to smooth the bass line.

Learn this properly

Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and Sevenths

Common questions

What notes are in C#?: C# contains C# · E# · G#. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
How do you build a major chord?: Stack a major third and then a minor third above the root — or equivalently, take the first, third and fifth degrees of the major scale.
What is the difference between C# and a minor chord on the same root?: One note. Lower the third by a semitone and the major triad becomes minor; nothing else changes.
What notes are in the C# Major chord?: The C# Major chord contains the notes C# · E# · G#: the root C# with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P 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# Major chord?: Measured from C#, the C# Major chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5P. 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.