C♯7, the C♯ dominant 7 guitar chord
C♯7 is the same grip at the 4th fret, two frets below E♭7 and two above B7. It pulls toward F♯, and it has a second job in the key of A, where it swings a song over to F♯ minor with a lift you’ll know from plenty of folk and pop. Coming from C♯, the ring finger narrows to the D string, the pinky takes the B string, and the G string falls onto the barre. That G string is the note that makes the chord a seventh. If it goes quiet, you’re playing plain C♯, so pick it by itself before you strum.
How to play it
- Index finger flattened across the A string (5th), G string (3rd) and high E string (1st), 4th fret.
- Ring finger on the D string (4th), 6th fret.
- Pinky on the B string (2nd), 6th fret.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.
Changes to practice
Holding C♯7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice C♯7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Barre 7ths set: