CHORD REFERENCE

C♯m9

C♯ – E – G♯ – B – D♯1 b3 5 b7 9

Also written D♭m9 — the same pitches spelled the other way.

The C♯ Minor 9th 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♯1Eb3G♯5Bb7D♯9

C♯m9 is C#, E, G#, B, D# — the 1, b3, 5, b7 and 9 above the root C♯.

Piano
EBC♯G♯D♯
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eEG♯BC♯D♯EBBC♯D♯EG♯BGG♯BC♯D♯EDD♯EG♯BC♯ABC♯D♯EG♯EEG♯BC♯D♯E

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♯D♯EG♯EEG♯BC♯D♯ECC♯D♯EG♯BGG♯BC♯D♯E

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

In which keys

C♯m9 is a diatonic chord in these keys:

viE majoriiB majoriC♯ minorivA♭ minor
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♭5C♯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♯11Dominant 11thC♯13Dominant 13th
Minor 9th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯GA♭G♯AB♭A♯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.