Chords in the Key of C# Minor

What are the chords in C# minor?

Take the C# minor scale — C# D# E F# G# A B — and build a chord on each note by stacking every other scale note on top of it. Those seven chords are the chords in the key:

• C#m — i, minor, built on C#
• D#dim — ii°, diminished, built on D#
• E — III, major, built on E
• F#m — iv, minor, built on F#
• G#m — v, minor, built on G#
• A — VI, major, built on A
• B — VII, major, built on B

The pattern of qualities is the same in every minor key — only the letters change. Learn the numerals and you can find the chords of any key in seconds.

Which chords to play first

C#m, F#m and G#m — the i, iv and v — carry most songs in C# minor. Add A (the VI) and B (the VII) for the classic minor-key turnaround.

• Bittersweet Loop — 6m–4–1–5 — C#m – A – E – B. Heard in Zombie, Numb.
• Andalusian Cadence — 6m–5–4–3 — C#m – B – A – G#. Heard in Hit the Road Jack, Stray Cat Strut.
• Dorian Vamp — 6m–2 — C#m – F#. Heard in Oye Como Va, Evil Ways.

The same chords as 7ths

Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of C# minor: C#m7, D#m7♭5, Emaj7, F#m7, G#m7, Amaj7, B7. Same roots, same function, a jazz and soul colour. The v as a dominant seventh (G#m7) is the one that pulls hardest back to C#m.

C# minor and E major share every chord

E major uses the same seven notes as C# minor, so it has the same seven chords — the relative major. What changes is which chord is home: C#m in C# minor, E in E major. A song can drift between the two without changing a single chord shape.

• The chords of E major, with their own numerals
• The C# minor scale on the neck

How to practice the chords of C# minor

1. Play C#m – F#m – G#m – C#m slowly, one strum per chord, until the changes are clean.
2. Open the chord builder in this key and turn on Smooth Voice Leading — it re-fingers each change so your hand barely moves.
3. Then play the scale over the chords. Every note of C# minor fits every chord above, which is why the scale and the key are the same thing seen from two sides.