CHORD REFERENCE

C♯7♭5

C♯ – E♯ – G – B1 3 b5 b7

The C♯ 7♭5 chord and everything around it — the notes and how they are built, the shape on piano and guitar, the sound, and the keys it belongs to.

Notes
C♯1E♯3Gb5Bb7

C♯7♭5 is C#, E#, G, B — the 1, 3, b5 and b7 above the root C♯.

Piano
E♯GBC♯
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eE♯GBC♯BBC♯E♯GBGGBC♯E♯GDE♯GBC♯ABC♯E♯GEE♯GBC♯

Root notes are red. There is no standard open shape for this chord — any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

357912ABC♯E♯GEE♯GBC♯CC♯E♯GBGGBC♯E♯G

Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only C#, E#, G, B plays the chord.

In which keys

C♯7♭5 is a colour chord — it is not diatonic to a plain major or minor key, which is what gives it its character. It shows up as a borrowed chord, an altered dominant, or a passing sound.

Other C♯ chords

Triads

C♯MajorC♯mMinorC♯5Power Chord (5)C♯dimDiminishedC♯augAugmentedC♯sus2Suspended 2ndC♯sus4Suspended 4th

Sixths & sevenths

C♯6Major 6thC♯m6Minor 6thC♯7Dominant 7thC♯maj7Major 7thC♯m7Minor 7thC♯m(maj7)Minor–Major 7thC♯dim7Diminished 7thC♯m7♭5Half-Diminished (m7♭5)C♯7sus47sus4

Altered dominants

C♯7♯57♯5 (Augmented 7th)C♯7♭97♭9C♯7♯97♯9 (Hendrix Chord)

Extended & added

C♯add9Added 9thC♯6/96/9C♯9Dominant 9thC♯maj9Major 9thC♯m9Minor 9thC♯11Dominant 11thC♯13Dominant 13th
7♭5 on another root
CC♯DE♭EFF♯GG♯AB♭B
Keep exploring

Work out the chords of a whole key with the Scale & Chord Finder, name a chord from its notes with the Chord Identifier, or browse every chord tool. The theory behind how chords are built is in the free Cloud Atelier music guides.