On the guitar, the C#5 chord is the power chord chord built from C#, G#. Its first guitar voicing is the open position: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (ring finger); D string muted; G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string at fret 2 (middle finger); high e string at fret 4 (little finger). Keep this page open while you practise: it lists the notes, every practical voicing, the mistakes that make it sound wrong and the progressions where it does its best work.
What notes are in the C#5 chord?
The C#5 chord is a power chord chord, and its notes are fixed: C#, G#. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root C#, so you can see the structure of C#5 at a glance. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes C#, G# in C#5.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| C# | Root |
| G# | 5 |
The root is C#, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in C#5 are 5. That combination is what makes C#5 sound the way it does: the intervals decide the colour, and the root decides the pitch. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
C#5 sounds bold and simple, two notes that cut through a mix better than any full chord. The colour is strongest when all the notes ring clearly. A muted chord tone, especially the 3rd or the 7th where the chord has one, flattens the character of C#5 noticeably. On the guitar, the open position of C#5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Comparing C#5 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, power chord against a full triad: C#5 has only C#, G# — root and 5th. Add the 3rd F and it becomes major; add E and it becomes minor. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the guitar, the open position of C#5 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
How to play C#5 on guitar
On the guitar, C#5 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — C#, G# — in a different place on the neck. There are 3 voicings listed for C#5 on the guitar; learn the first, then add the others as you need them. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
Another way to play C#5 is the open position, in open position: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (ring finger); D string muted; G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string at fret 2 (middle finger); high e string at fret 4 (little finger). The challenge here is the muted strings: 2 strings are marked x, and they need to stay silent. Let the edge of a fretting finger rest lightly on them — muting by touch, not by pressing. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in C#5 — C#, G# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord is the voicing to learn if you want C#5 in around fret 6: low E string at fret 9 (middle finger); A string muted; D string at fret 6 (index finger); G string at fret 6 (index finger); B string at fret 9 (ring finger); high e string at fret 9 (ring finger). It barres across strings 3 to 4 at fret 6 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 4 evenly at fret 6, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in C#5 — C#, G# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The movable voicing is the voicing to learn if you want C#5 in around fret 2: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string muted; G string muted; B string at fret 2 (index finger); high e string at fret 4 (ring finger). The challenge here is the muted strings: 3 strings are marked x, and they need to stay silent. Let the edge of a fretting finger rest lightly on them — muting by touch, not by pressing. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in C#5 — C#, G# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of C#5 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide C#5 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of C#5 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into C#5 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes C#, G# in C#5.
A short practice routine for C#5 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above C# and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for C#5 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make C#5 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of C#5, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of C#5 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Adding a 3rd by accident. A stray finger on the 3rd can turn a power chord into a triad, which sounds muddy through distortion. Mute the strings that should not sound. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Letting open strings ring. Open strings that are not part of the chord blur the sound. Mute them with the edge of your fretting hand. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Playing it too slowly. Power chords are about rhythm and movement. Practise changing them on the beat, not between beats. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Where C#5 is used
C#5 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of C# major, the key of F# major, the key of G# major. the rhythm-guitar chord of rock, punk and metal, where distortion makes full triads sound muddy. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward F# major, the key a perfect fourth above C#, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where C#5 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Because C#5 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain C# triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try C#5 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in C#5 on piano, C#5 on ukulele, C#5 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the C# major scale and the C# minor pentatonic scale. Learning C#5 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — C#, G# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising C#5
A short worked example makes C#5 concrete. Play the four-chord progression F# – C# – D#m – B in F# major, the key C#5 most often resolves toward: F# – C# – D#m – B. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how C#5 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on C#5 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
For a second exercise, play C#5 and then the chord a fourth above C#, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move C#5 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing C#5 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: C#, G#. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, the open position voicing is the place to hear it in C#5.
Frequently asked questions
Is C#5 major or minor?
Neither. C#5 contains only C#, G# — the root and the perfect 5th — so it has no 3rd to make it major or minor. That is why it works over both. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
Why do rock guitarists use C#5?
Through distortion, full triads sound muddy because the overtones clash. A power chord has only two notes, so it stays clear and punchy even with heavy distortion. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
What notes are in C#5?
Just two: C#, G#. The root C# and the perfect 5th G#. Some voicings add the root an octave higher, but the chord itself is only those two pitch classes. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play C#5 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the open position: frets x–4–x–1–2–4, fingers 0–3–0–1–2–4, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes C#, G#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for C#5, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is C#5 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of C#5 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.