The C#m7 chord (C sharp minor seventh) on guitar

C#m7 is C sharp minor with one extra note, B, and that note makes the chord easier, not harder. The open shape x42100 lets two strings ring free, so you get a full, soft C#m7 with three fingers and no barre. Learn that one first, then the barre at the fourth fret, which moves anywhere on the neck.

C#m7 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

• Name: C sharp minor seventh
• Symbol: C#m7
• Notes: C#, E, G#, B
• Where it belongs: vi7 in E major, iii7 in A major, ii7 in B major, im7 in C# minor, ivm7 in G# minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

The open C#m7: x42100

Third finger on the fifth string (A) at fret 4: that is C#, the root. Second finger on the fourth string (D) at fret 2: E, the minor third. First finger on the third string (G) at fret 1: G#, the fifth. The B string rings open on B, the seventh, and the high E rings open on E.

Strum from the fifth string down. If the gap between fret 1 and fret 4 feels too wide, play the fourth fret with the fourth finger instead: the notes are the same. Keep every finger arched, because the two open strings are the whole point of this shape and one leaning finger will silence them.

The barre C#m7: x46454

Start from the C#m barre, x46654. Lift the finger that was on the G string at fret 6: the barre underneath now sounds B at fret 4, the seventh. That is the whole change, one finger off. You end up with the first finger across fret 4, the third finger on the D string at fret 6, and the second finger on the B string at fret 5.

The shape is movable. Slide it and the root on the fifth string names the chord:

C#m7, C#7 or C#maj7: one note each

Three chord names that look alike on a chart, and three different sounds. With the barre at fret 4, only two strings change.

E# is the same pitch as F, and B# the same pitch as C: the names follow the rules of harmony, the frets do not care. The plain triad has its own page, C sharp minor.

Where C#m7 lives

C#m7 is the vi chord of E major and the ii chord of B major. In B, it starts the most common cadence in jazz and soul, ii V I: C#m7, F#7, B.

The second line is the loop of Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely, the clearest place to hear C#m7 do its job: it opens every cycle and gives the groove its warmth. More progressions like it are on the chord progressions page.