CHORD REFERENCE

C♯sus2

C♯ – D♯ – G♯1 2 5

Also written D♭sus2 — the same pitches spelled the other way.

The C♯ Suspended 2nd 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♯1D♯2G♯5

C♯sus2 is C#, D#, G# — the 1, 2 and 5 above the root C♯.

Piano
C♯D♯G♯
Guitar

Ways to play it

A-shape barre — 4th fret
4fr×

Guitar — every position (frets 0–12)

357912eG♯C♯D♯BC♯D♯G♯GG♯C♯D♯DD♯G♯C♯AC♯D♯G♯EG♯C♯D♯

Root notes are red. The shapes above are movable — an E-shape has its root on the low E string, an A-shape on the A string. any group of these notes on the neck sounds the chord.

Ukulele (standard G–C–E–A)

Movable shape
GCEA
357912AC♯D♯G♯EG♯C♯D♯CC♯D♯G♯GG♯C♯D♯

The shape above is movable up the neck. Every position of the chord tones on the ukulele neck — any group that sounds only C#, D#, G# plays the chord.

In which keys

C♯sus2 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♯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♯m9Minor 9thC♯11Dominant 11thC♯13Dominant 13th
Suspended 2nd on another root
CC♯D♭DE♭D♯EFF♯G♭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.