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C♯ nine chord

C♯ nine Dominant family

Funky and sophisticated.

Easiest shape1 of 2

Square: the root. In colour: the 9th, which gives the chord its sound.

Change a finger and see what it becomes

Built from

C♯root
E♯major 3rd
G♯5th
Bflat 7th
D♯9th

A dominant 7 with a 9th stacked on top: still restless, but richer.

Tension: Leaning

Hear it in a progression

ii–V–I
The backbone of jazz. In F♯ major.
Capo and transpose
Blues opening
The first four bars of a twelve-bar blues. In D♭ major.
Capo and transpose

Where it goes next

Thinking in F♯ major, where it is the V7 chord.

F♯maj7
Imaj7. The strongest pull in music: tension resolving home.
D♯m7
vi7. The fake-out: you expect home, you get the relative minor.

Sounds close

Ddim7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♯, G♯ and B.
Emaj7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have G♯, B and D♯.
Fm7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♯, G♯ and D♯.
G♯m7
Shares 3 of its notes. Both have G♯, B and D♯.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

Keys it lives in