The C#m/G# chord on guitar (C sharp minor over G sharp)

C#m/G# is not a new chord. It is C sharp minor with G#, its fifth, as the lowest note. If you can play the C#m barre at the fourth fret, you are one string away: let the first finger cover the low E as well. The slash tells you what the bass is doing, and that is usually the reason the chord is on the chart.

C#m/G# chord: notes and shapes at a glance

• Name: C sharp minor over G sharp
• Symbol: C#m/G#
• Notes: C#, E, G#
• Bass note: G#, the lowest note you play
• Where it belongs: vi in E major, iii in A major, ii in B major, i in C# minor, iv 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.

What the slash is telling you

A slash chord reads "chord over bass note". Left of the slash, the harmony: C#m, so C#, E and G#. Right of the slash, the lowest note you play: G#. No note is added; the same three notes are stacked in a different order.

With G# underneath, C sharp minor sounds less settled than with C# at the bottom, as if it is on the way somewhere. Songwriters use that to make the bass move in small steps between chords instead of jumping.

From C#m to C#m/G#

The full barre: 446654

Play the C#m barre, x46654: first finger across fret 4 from the fifth string, third finger on the D string at fret 6, fourth finger on the G string at fret 6, second finger on the B string at fret 5. Now lower the first finger so it also covers the low E at fret 4. That string sounds G#, and you have C#m/G#. The rest of the hand does not move.

Without the full barre: 4x665x

First finger on the low E at fret 4, letting its underside rest against the A string to keep it silent. Third and fourth fingers on the D and G strings at fret 6, second finger on the B string at fret 5. Leave the high E out. You keep the deep G# bass and drop the hardest part of the barre.

The shortcut: xx6654

On the top four strings, the D string at fret 6 already gives G#. If the bass player is holding the low G#, or you just need the chord to fit, this shape is enough.

C#m/G# in a song: the walking bass

In the key of A, the bass often walks down A, G#, F#. C#m/G# is the chord that puts G# in that walk. Adele's Someone Like You, played on guitar in A without a capo, is often charted this way:

Play only the lowest note of each chord first: A, G#, F#, D. That line is the reason for the slash. Then play the full chords and keep listening to the bottom. From C#m/G# to F#m, the first finger drops from a barre at fret 4 to a barre at fret 2: keep it close to the strings on the way.

The root position chord has its own page, C sharp minor (C#m), and more progressions built on moving bass lines are on the chord progressions page.