CHORD REFERENCE

C♯maj9

C♯ – E♯ – G♯ – B♯ – D♯1 3 5 7 9

Also written D♭maj9 — the same pitches spelled the other way.

The C♯ Major 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♯1E♯3G♯5B♯7D♯9

C♯maj9 is C#, E#, G#, B#, D# — the 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 above the root C♯.

Piano
E♯B♯C♯G♯D♯
Guitar

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eE♯G♯B♯C♯D♯BB♯C♯D♯E♯G♯GG♯B♯C♯D♯E♯DD♯E♯G♯B♯C♯AB♯C♯D♯E♯G♯EE♯G♯B♯C♯D♯

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)

357912AB♯C♯D♯E♯G♯EE♯G♯B♯C♯D♯CB♯C♯D♯E♯G♯B♯GG♯B♯C♯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♯maj9 is a diatonic chord in these keys:

IC♯ majorIVA♭ major♭VIF minor♭IIIB♭ 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♯m9Minor 9thC♯11Dominant 11thC♯13Dominant 13th
Major 9th on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭EFF♯G♭GA♭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.