C#6 Chord on Ukulele
C#6 = C# – F – G# – A# (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 6th)
C#6 is deceptively simple for a four-note chord: a single finger flattened across all four strings at the first fret produces every one of its required tones at once, no separate fingers or open strings involved. It's the direct upward continuation of a pattern this site's D6 entry already shows off — where D6 needs a full barre at the second fret, C#6 needs the identical technique one fret lower, and C6 itself needs no fretting at all. Three neighboring roots, three versions of the exact same trick.
The added sixth mellows C# major's plain triad into something rounder and less insistent, the same warm, slightly jazzy lift a sixth chord brings to any major triad it's added to. Respelled as Db6, it belongs to the same swing-era harmonic vocabulary that made sixth chords common currency in early jazz and Tin Pan Alley songwriting, genres the ukulele has deep roots in. Because the whole chord sits under one flat finger with nothing left ringing open, it has a compact, slightly muted quality compared to C6's fully open, airy voicing — the same four-note chord type, but a noticeably different texture depending on which root it's built from.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
Since this is a genuine four-string barre with no open string to disguise unevenness, focus on consistent pressure along the entire length of the index finger, checking each string individually before strumming the whole chord. It's worth practicing the direct comparison against D6's barre one fret up and C6's fully open voicing, since hearing the identical chord type shift character across those three roots is a clean, concrete lesson in how tuning and fretting interact on this instrument.
Common Progressions
- I - I6 alternation (C# - C#6), adding color to a static tonic
- Respelled Db6 - Gb - Ab - Db, the same motion in flat notation
- vi - IV - I6 (A#m - F# - C#6), landing on the barred voicing
- A closing C#6 works well ending a simple strummed arrangement in C#.
FAQ
- Why does C#6 need only one finger despite having four notes?
- All four of its chord tones happen to sit at the identical first fret across the G, C, E, and A strings, so a single flat barre finger covers the entire chord.
- How does C#6 relate to D6 and C6?
- It's the same chord type at the same barre technique, just one root apart from each — C6 needs no fingers at all, C#6 needs a barre at the first fret, and D6 needs the identical barre one fret higher.
- What's the flat-key spelling of this chord?
- Db6, the spelling more likely to appear in jazz-influenced or horn-transcribed ukulele arrangements.
- Can C#6 substitute for plain C# major?
- Yes, almost anywhere — every note of the plain triad is present, joined by one more, so the song's underlying harmony stays untouched while the color deepens slightly.
- Does C#6 share notes with any other common chord?
- Yes — like C6 and Am7, C#6 and A#m7 (Bbm7) share the identical four pitches, with the choice of label depending on which note the surrounding harmony treats as the root.
- What's a good way to check the C#6 barre is clean?
- Strum the chord slowly, releasing and reforming the barre repeatedly, listening for any single string that fails to ring — since no open string can mask a weak spot, this trains the hand to correct uneven pressure.
- Is C#6 ever confused with C#m7 in a chart?
- It can be, since they're built from different note sets but occupy a similar harmonic space as color chords; the surest way to tell them apart on the page is checking whether the chart calls for a major or minor underlying triad.
- How does the sixth chord tradition connect to ukulele's own history?
- Sixth chords were everywhere in the Hawaiian-influenced steel guitar and ukulele recordings that reached the American mainland in the early twentieth century, a warm, mellow color that helped define that era's popular sound well before rock-oriented strumming took over.
C#6 on other instruments: C#6 on Guitar, C#6 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.