C#5 Chord on Guitar
C#5 = C# – G# (Root, Perfect 5th)
C#5 slides the same power-chord shape one fret higher than C5, landing at the ninth fret with the low E string supplying the root and C# and G# as its only two pitch classes. Like every power chord discussed in this set, it's really just two notes (plus an octave doubling) rather than a full triad.
With no third present, C#5 is neither major nor minor — a blank harmonic slate that lets a rhythm guitarist imply either quality depending on what the rest of the band is playing over it. It's a chord more often reached via this movable low-string shape than through any dedicated open-position form, since C#, like most sharp-rooted pitches on guitar, has no comfortable open voicing of its own.
Fingerings
Barre (9th fret)
How to Practice It
Because the fingering is identical to every other power chord in this set — just shifted along the low E string — the real practice value in C#5 specifically is confirming the shape has been internalized as fully movable rather than tied to a single fret; sliding cleanly from C5 to C#5 and back is a quick way to test that. Muting the three unused strings remains the main technical demand, more so than fretting the three that are actually played.
Common Progressions
- C#5 – F#5 – G#5 – C#5 (I – IV – V – I)
- C#5 – B5 – A5 (a descending power-chord line)
- C#5 – G#5 – A#5 – F#5 (a rock-style progression)
- C#5 – D5 – C#5 (a half-step neighbor move)
FAQ
- How many semitones separate C# from G# in this chord?
- Seven — the interval that defines a perfect fifth, which is all a power chord ever contains beyond the root itself; a third octave-doubling of C# on the top string just reinforces the root rather than adding new harmonic information.
- Is C#5 the same shape as C5?
- Yes, identical fingering, moved one fret higher; every power chord in standard tuning shares this exact movable pattern regardless of root.
- Why would a song use C#5 instead of Db5?
- The two names refer to the same pitches; guitar tab and rock/metal chord charts lean toward sharp spellings like C#5 far more often than the flat equivalent, mostly by convention rather than any musical difference.
- Does C#5 ever get played with an open string involved?
- Not with this particular low-E-rooted shape, since C# isn't an open string on a standard-tuned guitar — it's purely a fretted, movable voicing.
- Is there a lower-fret alternative for C#5?
- Yes — rooting the same two-note interval on the A string instead of the low E string puts C#5 at the fourth fret, a position many players find more convenient depending on what other chords surround it in a song.
- Why is C#5 harder to place in a typical rock riff than E5 or A5?
- It isn't harder to physically play — the shape is identical — but C#-rooted riffs are simply less common in guitar-centric rock and metal writing, since songwriters on guitar tend to gravitate toward keys built around the open strings.
- Does C#5 ever function as a home-key tonic rather than a passing chord?
- It can, in C#- or Db-rooted rock and metal material, though that key is used less often on guitar overall than the naturally comfortable open ones, so C#5 more frequently turns up briefly within a chromatic riff than as an entire song's tonal center.
- How does the ninth-fret position affect the chord's tone compared to a lower power chord?
- Strings fretted higher up the neck are effectively shorter and under somewhat different tension at that point, giving the chord a slightly brighter, more compressed character than the same shape played closer to open position.
- What's a quick way to check whether the muting technique on C#5 is solid?
- Strum deliberately hard across all six strings; if only the three intended notes ring out and the other three stay silent, the muting from both hands is doing its job correctly.
- Does C#5's ninth-fret position share any practical crossover with the C#-major and C#-minor barre chords covered earlier?
- Yes — all three sit at the same fret, so a player already comfortable barring C# major or C# minor there can strip the shape down to just this power chord with almost no adjustment beyond lifting a finger or two.
Related: how chords are built, chord finder.