As the tonic (I)C♯ major
Home. The loop leaves C♯6 and keeps coming back to it.
C♯6 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes
The C♯6 chord is a major sixth chord built on the root note C♯. Its notes are C♯, E♯, G♯ and A♯. It's enharmonically the same chord as D♭6.
Transpose
Quality
Short answer
Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- Notes
- C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · A♯
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · 6
- Semitones
- 0 · 4 · 7 · 9
- Note
- C♯
- Quality
- Major 6
- Symbol
- C♯6
C♯6 on piano
4 notesView:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
To play C♯6 on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on C♯, index finger on E♯, middle finger on G♯ and little finger on A♯. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard C♯, G♯ and A♯ are black keys and E♯ is white, the key you'd normally call F. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.
- C♯1
- E♯3
- G♯5
- A♯6
C♯6 on guitar
View:
Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.
On guitar, C♯6 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 4. Don't play string 6.
C♯ · E♯ · G♯ · A♯
Try C♯6 on the virtual piano
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C♯6 chord notes
Also known as D♭6
| Degree | Interval | Semitones | Note | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Root | 0 | C♯(C#) | |
| 3 | Major third | 4 | E♯(E#) | |
| 5 | Perfect fifth | 7 | G♯(G#) | |
| 6 | Major sixth | 9 | A♯(A#) |
How to use the C♯6 chord
The C♯6 chord is built from a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Start at the root C♯ and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: C♯, E♯, G♯ and A♯. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.
Major sixth chords work as a softer substitute for a major triad, especially as a final chord where a maj7 would sound too jazzy. Swing, rockabilly, bossa nova and country all lean on them.
How C♯6 differs from similar chords
C♯6 and C♯maj7 both add one note to C♯, but the sixth sits a whole step below the major seventh and makes no dissonance with the root. C♯6 has exactly the same notes as the minor seventh chord a minor third below it, so the bass note decides which of the two you hear.
Where C♯6 is used
A major chord is at home as a tonic, and just as useful as the IV or the V of a neighbouring key. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.
Questions people ask
- What notes are in the C♯6 chord?
- The C♯6 chord contains C♯, E♯, G♯ and A♯ (C#, E#, G# and A# in plain text).
- Is the C♯6 chord major or minor?
- C♯6 is a major sixth chord. Major sixth chords sound bright and settled without the pull of a seventh. Adding a major sixth to a major triad gives a warm, slightly retro colour that filled swing bands and fifties pop, and it still ends a song beautifully.
- How do you play C♯6 on piano?
- Place your fingers on C♯, E♯, G♯ and A♯ and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard C♯, G♯ and A♯ are black keys and E♯ is white, the key you'd normally call F. The thumb starts on a black key, so slide the whole hand a little further in, towards the fallboard.
- How do you play C♯6 on guitar?
- Use the fingering in the diagram above. The fretted notes sit between frets 2 and 4. Don't play string 6.
- What is another name for the C♯6 chord?
- C♯6 is enharmonically equivalent to D♭6. Both chord names describe exactly the same notes, but the spelling depends on the key you are playing in.