If you happen to be looking to spice up your guitar playing with a basic, yet highly efficient chord, allow us to introduce you to the one and only C sharp minor chord.
Frequently used in a variety of genres, this slightly sad and sorrowful chord is an obligatory component of just about any guitar player’s arsenal.
What You Will Need To Play C Sharp Minor Guitar Chord
So we’d like to clarify a few things here – we’ll expand the guide a little bit so that you can not only play C# minor, but also play the chord on ukulele, as well as play one of its popular variations, the C sharp minor 7 chord. This is what you will need:
- An instrument (guitar or ukulele, bass guitar partially applies too)
- A guitar pick (optional)
- Six strings
- Desire to learn music
With all that out of the way, this is how to play C sharp minor on guitar, let’s go!
Learn How To Play C Sharp Minor Guitar Chord
Alright, so the key of C sharp minor is of course the C# note, which is located on the 4th fret of your A string. This musical shape consists of the following notes, all of which you need to strum: C#, G#, and E.
To play the chord, here’s how you need to approach it:
- Place your index finger on the fourth fret of the A string (the second string from above, fifth one from below).
- Place your ring finger on the sixth fret of the D string (the third string from above, fourth one from below).
- Place your pinky finger on the sixth fret of the G string (the fourth string from above, third one from below)
- Place your middle finger on the fifth fret of the B string (the fifth string from above, second one from below)
- Place the lower part of your index finger on the fourth fret of the high E string (the sixth string from above, first one from below).
- Mute the low E string (first one from above)
- Strum!
This position is quite standard position and something you are bound to notice in the world of guitar playing. However, as noted, the sound is still significantly more on the gloomy side than many other similar chords, only showcasing the power of music.
If it’s hard for you to remember the strings, please read this post: How To Remember Guitar Strings - Know Your Ways Around Fretboard
C Sharp Minor Ukulele Chord – How To Play It
Now unlike guitars, which feature six strings and a standard tuning of E A D G B E, ukuleles only feature four strings and a standard tuning of G C E G. This makes the whole situation significantly different, and changes the finger positioning drastically compared to a guitar. So, here’s how to do it:
- Place your ring finger on the sixth fret of the low G string (the first string from above, fourth one from below).
- Place the upper part of your index finger on the fourth fret of the C string (the second string from above, third one from below).
- Place the middle section of your index finger on the fourth fret of the E string (the third string from above, second one from below)
- Place the lower part of your index finger on the fourth fret of the high G string (the fourth string from above, first one from below)
- Make sure that your ring finger isn’t touching any of the first three strings from below.
- Make sure that your index finger is firmly attached to the fourth fret of the lower three strings. You can test if it’s in the right position by strumming each of the strings individually while the index finger is in the position described in previous steps. If each of the three strums produces a sound and not a muted note, you’re doing it right.
- Strum!
How To Play C Sharp Minor 7 On Guitar
Finally, another very frequently addressed question regards the C sharp minor 7 chord and how to play it. In order to properly execute this fella, you will need to make only slight alterations.
So first of all – what is a minor 7 chord? Well, it’s a standard minor chord with one key alteration – in addition to standard three notes every basic chord has (C#, G# and E) in this case, it also adds the minor 7th note, or in this case the seventh note in the scale of C#, which is B.
In more practical terms, it means that you play the same thing you played in C shard minor, except that you move your pinky away from the sixth fret of the G string, and press the G string with your index finger. A step by step explanation reads as follows:
- Place your index finger on the fourth fret of the A string (the second string from above, fifth one from below).
- Place your ring finger on the sixth fret of the D string (the third string from above, fourth one from below).
- Place the middle part of your index finger on the fourth fret (this is the B note, the major 7) of the G string (the fourth string from above, third one from below).
- Place your middle finger on the fifth fret of the B string (the fifth string from above, second one from below)
- Place the lower part of your index finger on the fourth fret of the high E string (the sixth string from above, first one from below).
- Mute the low E string (first one from above).
- Strum!
Tips On How To Play C Sharp Minor
OK, so to make sure that you get it right the first time, we decided to include a string of tips and tricks in the mix. Here goes!
- If you’re having trouble with pressing your index finger properly onto the 4th fret so every string produces a proper tone when plucked (and not that lousy muted one), tilt it towards the left (so your fingernail and the entire finger go towards the left) and press the strings with the part of the finger that has more bone and firmness to it.
- Pluck each string individually to check if you’re holding the chord right.
- As for your middle, ring, and pinky finger, make sure that you press the required frets with a tip of each finger, so that each of the fingers bends and doesn’t touch any of the strings (which would of course create those pesky muted tones).
- Press the strings as close to the fret as possible, but without pressing onto the actual fret. Also, press it firmly, but not too hard.
- Mute the low E string when needed using the tip of your index finger.
Famous Songs In The Key Of C Sharp Minor
Finally, in order to bring the lovely chord even closer to you, we’re going to list a few famous songs from a variety of genres that are in the key of C# minor. We’ll make sure to be as versatile as possible and cover various musical eras. Here goes:
- Linkin Park – One Step Closer
- Led Zeppelin – No Quarter
- Britney Spears – Oops! I Did It Again
- The Beatles – Because
- Kesha – Die Young
- The Police – Message in a Bottle
- Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
- One Republic – Counting Stars
As you can see, there is a variety of ways this key and chord can be utilized, but you can also see that it is not difficult for artists to express doom and gloom with them.
The Police classic “Message in a Bottle” has a surprisingly eerie undertone if you strip it down, Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” epitomizes gloom, and Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” is full-on dark chug fiesta. But still, the chord does not guarantee darkness – no chords do, really – and it can still be placed in a happier and more pop-oriented sonic environment.
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Conclusion
And we have steadily the very end of our journey here. The idea here was to be concise, accurate and on point. Hopefully we’ve achieved that goal and hopefully you’re learned how to play the C sharp minor guitar chord.
If you have any questions or comments, make sure to leave them in the section below, all feedback is greatly appreciated. Until next time, rock steady, roll easy!
