# C♯m, the C♯ minor guitar chord

C♯ minor is the B minor grip slid up two frets: the index lies across five strings at the 4th fret and the low E stays out of the strum. It’s the sad chord in the key of E, sitting next to A and B in song after song. The barre presses easier up here, away from the nut, but the frets are narrower, and crowded fingertips start brushing their neighbors. As with Bm, the B string under the barre carries the note that makes the chord minor. Check that it rings.

C♯m

## How to play it

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

## Changes to practice

Holding C♯m still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice C♯m as changes, alongside the rest of the A-shape Barres set:

- [C♯m ↔ Bm](https://strumhold.com/chords/b-minor/) C♯ minor to B minor [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/B.min.A~C%23.min.A)
- [C♯m ↔ B](https://strumhold.com/chords/b-major/) C♯ minor to B major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/B.maj.A~C%23.min.A)
- [C♯m ↔ B♭](https://strumhold.com/chords/b-flat-major/) C♯ minor to B♭ major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A%23.maj.A~C%23.min.A)

## Same root, different color

- [C♯](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-sharp-major/), C♯ major
- [C♯7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-sharp-7/), C♯ dominant 7
- [C♯m7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-sharp-minor-7/), C♯ minor 7
- [C♯maj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-sharp-major-7/), C♯ major 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill C♯m in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/B.min.A~C%23.min.A)