HOW TO PLAY

C# Major

From your perspective, as you look down at the fretboard:

STEP BY STEP

How to play a C# Major chord on the guitar

1. Make a barre with your first finger on the fourth fret.
2. Put your second finger on the sixth fret of the fourth string.
3. Put your third finger on the sixth fret of the third string.
4. Put your fourth finger on the sixth fret of the second string.
5. Strum only the highest five strings.

THEORY

C# Major is a major triad, built up of the root, the major third, and the perfect fifth:

Here is how those notes are actually distributed across your fretboard

Here’s how you might play the same chord on the piano:

HOW IT’S USED

The most common progression you’ll likely see with C# Major is going from C#, to F#, to G#, or I, IV, V.

Adding in the minor six chord (A#m), you have the classic `I-V-iv-IV` pattern:

SEE ALSO

Other common chords in the key of C# Major: