What notes are in a C#m chord?

C#m (Minor) is built from C#, E, G# — the formula R - b3 - 5 from the root.

C#m Chord (Minor)

The minor triad flips one note from major — the 3rd drops a semitone — and the whole mood turns. The notes of C#m are C#, E, G#.

It is the default "sad" or "serious" chord: minor-key ballads, moody verses, most of the emotional weight in rock and pop.

Every playable, root-in-the-bass grip standard tuning offers, computed from the chord’s own formula — not a fixed shape library.

Fret 4

Fret 9

Fret 11

Compare it directly against the major triad on the same root; that single semitone is the entire difference between the two moods.

R - b3 - 5 — 3 notes.

Every scale below contains all of this chord’s notes — safe territory to improvise in over it.

Also compatible: Minor Pentatonic, Blues, Major Blues, Harmonic Minor.