C# minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- C# D# E F# G# A B
- Key signature
- four sharps: F# C# G# D#
- Relative major
- E major
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | C#m | C# E G# | |
| ii° | D#dim | D# F# A | |
| III | E | E G# B | |
| iv | F#m | F# A C# | |
| v | G#m | G# B D# | |
| VI | A | A C# E | |
| VII | B | B D# F# |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | C#m7 | C# E G# B | |
| iiø7 | D#m7b5 | D# F# A C# | |
| IIImaj7 | Emaj7 | E G# B D# | |
| iv7 | F#m7 | F# A C# E | |
| v7 | G#m7 | G# B D# F# | |
| VImaj7 | Amaj7 | A C# E G# | |
| VII7 | B7 | B D# F# A |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, B to B#.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | G# (same notes, spelled Ab on its chord page) | G# B# D# | |
| V7 | G#7 (same notes, spelled Ab7 on its chord page) | G# B# D# F# |
Common progressions in C# minor
- i–iv–v straight from the natural minor scale
- i–VI–III–VII the minor pop loop
- i–iv–V with the raised-seventh V, which pulls harder back to i(same notes on the chord pages: G# is spelled Ab)
On guitar
Capo 4. With a capo on fret 4, play the open shapes Am for C#m, Dm for F#m, E for G#: they sound as the i, iv and V (C#m, F#m and G#). The VI chord, A, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of C# minor work
C# minor uses the notes C# D# E F# G# A B, four sharps: F# C# G# D#: the natural minor scale, the same notes as E major, its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i C#m, ii° D#dim, III E, iv F#m, v G#m, VI A, VII B.
In practice most songs in C# minor play G# or G#7 as the V chord instead of G#m: raising B to B# gives a note a semitone below C# that pulls back to it. That raised seventh comes from the harmonic minor scale (C# D# E F# G# A B#). So a song with both B and G# in it is still in C# minor, and the finder counts G# and G#7 as belonging to this key.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative major, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.