C♯ add9 chordC♯add9

Built from

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

The 9th is the 2nd an octave up, a bright colour on top of a plain major chord.

Hear it in a progression

• The pop progression

  Behind countless hits. Hopeful, then bittersweet. In D♭ major.

  Capo and transpose

  1. D♭add9I
  2. A♭V
  3. B♭mvi
  4. G♭IV

• Three-chord song

  Folk, rock and roll, campfire. In D♭ major.

  Capo and transpose

  1. D♭add9I
  2. G♭IV
  3. A♭V
  4. D♭add9I

• Doo-wop

  Fifties ballad, sweet and nostalgic. In D♭ major.

  Capo and transpose

  1. D♭add9I
  2. B♭mvi
  3. G♭IV
  4. A♭V

Where it goes next

Thinking in D♭ major, where it is the I chord.

• G♭

  IV. Lifts away from home without leaving it.

• A♭

  V. Builds tension that wants to come back.

• B♭m

  vi. Same key, sadder colour: the relative minor.

• E♭m

  ii. A gentle step up that sets up the V chord.

Sounds close

• Fm7

  Shares 3 of its notes. Both have E♯, G♯ and D♯.

• A♯m7

  Shares 3 of its notes. Both have C♯, E♯ and G♯.

• Fm

  Shares 2 of its notes. Both have E♯ and G♯.

• G♯

  Shares 2 of its notes. Both have G♯ and D♯.

Scales that fit

Notes you can play over this chord, simplest first.

• D♭ major
• D♭ major pentatonic

Keys it lives in

• D♭ majoras I
• F♯ majoras V
• A♭ majoras IV
• F minoras VI
• B♭ minoras III
• E♭ minoras VII