Guitar chords · Diminished
C♯° chord on guitar (C#dim)
C♯° (C♯ A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: C♯, E and G, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
Shapes
How to play C♯°
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
C♯° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 4 or the E shape at fret 9. A A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major. keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
A shape · fret 4
E shape · fret 9
Notes and formula
What makes C♯° diminished
A A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord stacks two minor 3rds, so its 5th is a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. flat. It sounds tense and unstable and is usually a passing chord; in a major key it is the vii° chord.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The ♭3rd and the ♭5th make C♯° a A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key. chord.
- C♯Rroot
- E♭3essential
- G♭5essential
- C♯, the root
- Other chord tones
C♯° usually resolves up a The smallest distance in Western music: one fret on the guitar, such as E to F or F to F♯. to D or Dm, the chord it leads into.
C♯° and D♭° are the same chord with two names: same The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step., same sound. Which one you see depends on the key the song is written in.
Keys
Keys with C♯°
C♯° belongs to three keys: D major (vii°), B minor (ii°) and D minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Slash chords
C♯° over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps C♯° on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- C♯°/E
C♯° with its ♭3rd, E, in the bass: the first inversion.
- C♯°/G
C♯° with its ♭5th, G, in the bass: the second inversion.
Same root
Other chords on C♯ / D♭
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- D♭ major
- C♯m minor
- D♭7 dominant 7th
- D♭maj7 major 7th
- C♯m7 minor 7th
- D♭sus2 suspended 2nd
- D♭sus4 suspended 4th
- D♭6 major 6th
- C♯m6 minor 6th
- D♭add9 add 9
- D♭9 dominant 9th
- D♭maj9 major 9th
- C♯m9 minor 9th
- D♭13 dominant 13th
- D♭maj13 major 13th
- C♯m11 minor 11th
- C♯m7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- C♯°7 diminished 7th
- D♭+ augmented
- D♭5 power chord
- D♭7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- C♯m(maj7) minor major 7th
- D♭6/9 six-nine
- C♯m(add9) minor add 9
- D♭7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
C♯°, in short
- What notes are in the C♯° chord?
- C♯° (C♯ A chord with a minor 3rd and a flattened 5th, written °. It sounds tense, and is the vii° chord of a major key.) has three notes: C♯, E and G, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3 and ♭5.
- How do you play C♯° on guitar?
- C♯° has no common A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em.. Play it as the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 4 or the E shape at fret 9.
- What key is C♯° in?
- C♯° belongs to three keys: D major (vii°), B minor (ii°) and D minor (vii°, The natural minor scale with its 7th raised a half step, which makes the V chord major and gives it a strong pull home.).
- Is C♯° the same as D♭°?
- Yes: same frets, same sound, different name. C♯° is the spelling in D major, B minor and D minor. No key on the circle spells it D♭°, so you will rarely see that name.