Welcome to the most recent installation of Chord by Chord, a series developed to construct your understanding of harmony and the fretboard. In the last lesson, I revealed you a lot of F# m chords. This time, you’ll learn all about a new minor chord, C# m.
If you remember, a minor triad is built from 3 notes– the root, the small third, and the fifth. A C# m chord is spelled C# E G #, as displayed in Example 1. Like F# m, C# m is normally played as a barre chord. Example 2a reveals the least expensive C# m voicing on the fretboard. If this shape seems familiar, that’s because it’s the same one you discovered for F# m, simply moved down 5 frets. Example 2b reveals a three-note voicing stemmed from Ex. 2a.
Next attempt a full barre chord in ninth position, as shown in Example 3a. If you desire, play this example using simply the top or bottom four strings. As you have actually finished with other minor barre chords, you might likewise attempt wrapping your thumb around the neck to fret the C# on string 6, while getting rid of the 5th string.
Since it’s unwise to play barre chords high up the neck on the majority of acoustic guitars, Example 4 shows a four-note voicing in the 12th position, which removes the need for the barre. Note that the most affordable voice, E, is not the root but the small third.
You should now know a handful of common C# m voicings. A tune that utilizes this chord is “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies. Next time I’ll reveal you another small chord, Bm.
