C♯, the C♯ major guitar chord

C♯ is the B grip slid up two frets: the index barres five strings at the 4th fret, the ring finger frets the three middle strings two frets above, and the low E stays out of the strum. Songs in F♯ lean on C♯ the way songs in B lean on F♯, and pop songs love to jump into it for a final chorus. The crowded ring finger tends to lean over and choke the high E string. If that string dies, let it go and keep the middle three clean.

C♯
4frⓇ×13

How to play it

  • Index finger flattened across the A string (5th) and high E string (1st), 4th fret.
  • Ring finger flattened across the D string (4th), G string (3rd) and B string (2nd), 6th fret.
  • Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

Changes to practice

Holding C♯ still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice C♯ as changes, alongside the rest of the Barres in Every Key set:

Same root, different color