# C♯ Minor 7th piano chord (C♯m7)

C♯m7 contains C♯, E, G♯ and B. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. C♯ and G♯ are black keys; E and B are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/c-sharp/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:c-sharp
- Notes: C♯ E G♯ B
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 3
- Also written: C♯m7, C#m7, C♯ minor 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | C♯ | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | E | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | G♯ | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| ♭7 | B | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 2 on C♯, finger 3 on E, finger 4 on G♯, finger 5 on B. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 2-3-4-5, left hand 5-4-3-2. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C♯ | C♯3 E3 G♯3 B3 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (C♯m7/E) | E | E3 G♯3 B3 C♯4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (C♯m7/G♯) | G♯ | G♯3 B3 C♯4 E4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (C♯m7/B) | B | B3 C♯4 E4 G♯4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C♯3 E3 G♯3 B3 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E3 G♯3 B3 C♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G♯3 B3 C♯4 E4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | B3 C♯4 E4 G♯4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | G♯2 C♯3 E3 B3 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | E2 C♯3 G♯3 B3 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | C♯2 G♯2 E3 B3 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | C♯2 B2 E3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits G♯ |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | E3 B3 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C♯ and G♯ |
| Rootless close | E3 G♯3 B3 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C♯ |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯ minor | im7 | Tonic, home |
| E major | vim7 | Tonic substitute |
| F♯ minor | vm7 | Minor dominant |
| G♯ minor | ivm7 | Subdominant |
| A major | iiim7 | Tonic substitute |
| B major | iim7 | Predominant |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (9)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, v, i | C♯ minor | im7 | D♯m7♭5 to G♯m7 to C♯m7 | 2 tones held from G♯m7 |
| iv, i | C♯ minor | im7 | F♯m7 to C♯m7 | 2 tones held from F♯m7 |
| i, ♭VI, ii, v | C♯ minor | im7 | C♯m7 to Amaj7 to D♯m7♭5 to G♯m7 | C♯m7 opens the phrase |
| vi, IV, I, V | E major | vim7 | C♯m7 to Amaj7 to Emaj7 to B7 | C♯m7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | E major | vim7 | Emaj7 to C♯m7 | 3 tones held from Emaj7 |
| v, i | F♯ minor | vm7 | C♯m7 to F♯m7 | C♯m7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | F♯ minor | vm7 | G♯m7♭5 to C♯m7 to F♯m7 | 2 tones held from G♯m7♭5 |
| iv, v, i | G♯ minor | ivm7 | C♯m7 to D♯m7 to G♯m7 | C♯m7 opens the phrase |
| i, iv | G♯ minor | ivm7 | G♯m7 to C♯m7 | 2 tones held from G♯m7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| C♯m9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds D♯ | 4 |
| C♯m | 1 ♭3 5 | drops B | 3 |
| C♯7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | E becomes E♯ | 3 |
| C♯mMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B becomes B♯ | 3 |
| C♯m7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | G♯ becomes G | 3 |
| C♯7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | E becomes F♯ | 3 |
| C♯m6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | B becomes A♯ | 3 |
| C♯9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | E becomes E♯, D♯ | 3 |
| C♯ | 1 3 5 | E, B becomes E♯ | 2 |
| C♯dim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | G♯, B becomes G | 2 |
| C♯sus2 | 1 2 5 | E, B becomes D♯ | 2 |
| C♯sus4 | 1 4 5 | E, B becomes F♯ | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {1, 4, 8, 11}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [8, 11, 1, 4]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C♯3 | 49 | 138.59 Hz |
| E3 | 52 | 164.81 Hz |
| G♯3 | 56 | 207.65 Hz |
| B3 | 59 | 246.94 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in C♯m7?

C♯m7 contains C♯, E, G♯ and B. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play C♯m7 on piano?

Play C♯, E, G♯ and B together. Right hand fingers 2, 3, 4, 5; left hand 5, 4, 3, 2. C♯ and G♯ are black keys; E and B are white.

### What are the inversions of C♯m7?

4 positions: root position C♯ E G♯ B, C♯m7/E, C♯m7/G♯, C♯m7/B.

### What keys contain C♯m7?

6: im7 in C♯ minor, vim7 in E major, vm7 in F♯ minor, ivm7 in G♯ minor, iiim7 in A major, iim7 in B major.

### What is the difference between C♯m7 and C♯m9?

Adds D♯. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy C♯m7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, E3 B3, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of C♯m7?

From C♯3 at A440 in 12-TET: 138.59, 164.81, 207.65, 246.94 Hz.

### What is the set class of C♯m7?

Prime form (0358), Forte 4-26, interval vector &lt;012120&gt;.

### How do I transpose C♯m7 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭; D♭m7 is D♭, F♭, A♭, C♭.

### Is D♭m7 the same as C♯m7?

Enharmonically yes: the same piano keys and the same sound, spelled differently.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-7th:c-sharp
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12