Chords » C# Minor

Symbols:C#m, C#min, C#-
Scale Degree Formula:1-♭3-5
Interval Stack:m3 + M3
Notes:C#, E, G#
Hear this chord:▸ Guitar
Inversions:C#m/E, C#m/G#

Construction

Using the scale degree formula, we first start with the C# major scale, and number each note in the scale starting from 1 - these are the scale degrees. Next, we use the scale degree formula, in this case 1-♭3-5, to select notes from our enumerated scale. When a chord requires notes that are not in the scale, this is indicated with a flat (♭) or a sharp (#) along with the scale degree; a ♭3, for instance, would be one half-step down from the 3rd scale degree.
Alternatively, we can use the interval stack to construct our chord. With this approach, we first start with the lowest note of the chord (C#), then move our first interval (m3), which brings us to our second note in the chord (E). We repeatedly apply each of the remaining intervals in the stack to get the full list of notes for our chord.
The diagram below shows how both the scale degree formula and interval stack methods result in the same selection of notes:
C#1D♭2D#2E♭3F3F#4G♭5G#5m3M3

Similar Chords

The following chords are similar to this chord and may be a suitable replacement in certain scenarios.

Chord TypeChords
7th Suspended SecondF#7sus2
AugmentedG#aug, Eaug, Caug
DiminishedC#dim, Bbdim
Half-Diminished 7thBbm7(b5)
MajorE, C#, A
Major 6thEM6
Major 7thAM7
Minor 2ndC#m2
Minor 6thC#m6
Minor 7thC#m7
Minor Added 11thC#madd11
Minor Added 9thC#madd9
Minor Major 7thC#mM7
PowerchordC#5
Suspended FourthG#sus, C#sus
Suspended SecondF#sus2, C#sus2

Associated Scales

This chord can be found in the following scales.

ScaleRoots
BluesBb, C#
Blues MajorB
Blues MinorG#
DorianB, F#, C#
Dorian b5B, Bb
Harmonic MajorA, G#
Harmonic MinorG#, F, C#
Ionian #5B, G#, E
LocrianBb, G#, D#
Locrian bb7G#, G
Locrian ♮6Bb, G, D#
LydianA, E, D
Lydian #9A, E, C#
Lydian Augmented #2F, E
Lydian b3D, C#
MajorB, A, E
Major PentatonicE
MinorG#, F#, C#
Minor PentatonicC#
MixolydianB, F#, E
Mixolydian b2E, D#
PhrygianG#, D#, C#
Phrygian DominantC, G#, D#
Phrygian b4C, C#
Super-Locrian bb7C, G, E
SuspendedF#
Ukrainian DorianBb, F#, C#

Related Items

Chord Charts
Find guitar chord charts for C# Minor
4×1234
moderate
Arpeggio Charts
Printable collection of C# Minor arpeggio charts for guitar
9
About the Algorithms
Read about the algorithms and methods used in constructing chord details.