C#m
How to play the C Sharp Minor Chord on your piano or keyboard
From the chord symbol C#m we get the following information:
- The C#m chord has the note C# as root note
- The C#m chord is a 3-note chord (a triad)
- The C#m chord is a minor chord
Because C#m is a 3-note chord it also has 3 inversions:
- Root inversion
- 1st. inversion
- 2nd. inversion
C#m chord – Root inversion (basic inversion) looks like this: C# – E – G#
C#m chord – 1st. inversion (root note at the top of the chord): E – G# – C#
C#m chord – 2nd. inversion (root note in the middle of the chord): G# – C# – E
C#m chord – fingering:
Root inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Note | C# | E | G# |
1st. inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Note | E | G# | C# |
2nd. inversion:
| Finger | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Note | G# | C# | E |
C#m chord – Closely related scales and harmonic functions:
The C#m chord is the 1st. step in the C# minor scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | C#m | D#m(b5) | E | F#m | G#m | A | B |
The C#m chord is the 4th. step in the G# minor scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | G#m | A#m(b5) | B | C#m | D#m | E | F# |
The C#m chord is the 5th. step in the F# minor scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | F#m | G#m(b5) | A | Bm | C#m | D | E |
The C#m chord is the 6st. step in the E major scale
| Step | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Chord | E | F#m | G#m | A | B | C#m | D#m(b5) |