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