The C#maj9 guitar chord is a major 9th chord with the notes C#, F, G#, C, D#. Its first guitar voicing is a barre chord at fret 1: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string at fret 1 (index finger); high e string at fret 1 (index finger). Whether you are learning it for the first time or checking a voicing, this page has the notes, the guitar fingerings, the inversions and alternatives, and the progressions it appears in.
What notes are in the C#maj9 chord?
The C#maj9 chord is a major 9th chord, and its notes are fixed: C#, F, G#, C, D#. 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#maj9 at a glance. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| C# | Root |
| F | 3 |
| G# | 5 |
| C | 7 |
| D# | 9 |
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#maj9 are 3, 5, 7, 9. Learn those intervals rather than memorising the shape alone, because the same interval pattern transposed to another root gives you the same quality of chord anywhere. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
C#maj9 sounds lush, dreamy and wide open — the major 9th is one of the prettiest chords in popular music. 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#maj9 noticeably. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
Comparing C#maj9 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, major 9th against dominant 9th: C#maj9 keeps the major 7th C; the dominant 9th flattens it to B. The major 9th sounds dreamy; the dominant 9th sounds bluesy. Hearing the comparison matters more than reading it: play C#maj9, then play the chord it is compared with above, and let your ear find the note that changed. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
How to play C#maj9 on guitar
On the guitar, C#maj9 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — C#, F, G#, C, D# — in a different place on the neck. The first voicing below is the one to learn first, and the alternatives cover the rest of the neck. 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.
The barre chord is the voicing to learn if you want C#maj9 in open position: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string at fret 1 (index finger); high e string at fret 1 (index finger). It barres across strings 3 to 6 at fret 1 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 6 evenly at fret 1, 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#maj9 — C#, F, G#, C, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Another way to play C#maj9 is the movable voicing, in around fret 3: low E string muted; A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 3 (index finger); G string at fret 5 (little finger); B string at fret 4 (ring finger); high e string at fret 4 (ring finger). The challenge here is the muted string: 1 string is marked x, and it needs to stay silent. Let the edge of a fretting finger rest lightly on it — muting by touch, not by pressing. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in C#maj9 — C#, F, G#, C, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord puts C#maj9 in open position: low E string at fret 1 (index finger); A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 1 (index finger); G string at fret 1 (index finger); B string at fret 1 (index finger); high e string at fret 1 (index finger). It barres across strings 1 to 6 at fret 1 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 1 to 6 evenly at fret 1, 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#maj9 — C#, F, G#, C, D# — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of C#maj9 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#maj9 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of C#maj9 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into C#maj9 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#, F, G#, C, D# in C#maj9.
A short practice routine for C#maj9 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#maj9 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#maj9 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.
Crowding five notes. Five notes need space. Drop the 5th (G#) and spread the rest across octaves so the 9th D# can ring. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes C#, F, G#, C, D# in C#maj9.
Playing it too fast. C#maj9 is a slow chord. At a fast tempo its colour gets lost; give each note time to sound. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
Forgetting the 9th. Without D# this is just a major 7th chord. The 9th is the note that makes it a 9th. On the guitar, the barre chord of C#maj9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of C#maj9, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of C#maj9 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes C#, F, G#, C, D# in C#maj9.
Where C#maj9 is used
C#maj9 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. a tonic chord in jazz and neo-soul, where the 9th adds width without tension. 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#maj9 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
Because C#maj9 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#maj9 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in C#maj9 on piano, C#maj9 on ukulele, C#maj9 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the C# major scale and the C# minor pentatonic scale. Learning C#maj9 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — C#, F, G#, C, D# — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising C#maj9
A short worked example makes C#maj9 concrete. Play the four-chord progression F# – C# – D#m – B in F# major, the key C#maj9 most often resolves toward: F# – C# – D#m – B. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how C#maj9 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#maj9 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, the barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
For a second exercise, play C#maj9 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#maj9 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing C#maj9 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: C#, F, G#, C, D#. 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 barre chord voicing is the place to hear it in C#maj9.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play C#maj9 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the barre chord: frets x–4–1–1–1–1, fingers 0–2–1–1–1–1, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes C#, F, G#, C, D#, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for C#maj9, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is C#maj9 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of C#maj9 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.
What is the easiest voicing of C#maj9 on the guitar?
The barre chord is the easiest voicing listed for C#maj9 on the guitar: frets x–4–1–1–1–1, fingers 0–2–1–1–1–1. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.
What notes are in C#maj9?
C#maj9 contains C#, F, G#, C, D#: root C#, major 3rd F, perfect 5th G#, major 7th C and the 9th D#. It is a major 7th chord with the 9th added on top. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.
Is C#maj9 a major chord?
Yes — a major 9th chord, built on a major triad with a major 7th and a 9th. It sounds major, lush and dreamy, and it works as a tonic chord. On the guitar, the first voicing above shows where that note sits.