C# Minor on the Guitar Neck
Four sharps give the C# minor scale its notes: C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A and B. They are identical to E major, so C# minor is the relative minor of that bright, guitar-friendly key.
Fret the root at the 9th fret of the low E string for a high box, or at the 4th fret of the A string for a lower one. Plenty of well-known melancholic songs sit in this key, and songs built on these scales shows how the minor sound works in practice.
Play the C# minor scale
Use the step menu in the player to switch between the single-string run and the box shapes.
Notes of the C# minor scale
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones from root |
|---|---|---|---|
| C# | 1 | Root | 0 |
| D# | 2 | Major 2nd | 2 |
| E | b3 | Minor 3rd | 3 |
| F# | 4 | Perfect 4th | 5 |
| G# | 5 | Perfect 5th | 7 |
| A | b6 | Minor 6th | 8 |
| B | b7 | Minor 7th | 10 |
Structure
C# minor scale notes:
How the minor scale is built:
The minor scale is built from the degrees 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7, which gives the step pattern W-H-W-W-H-W-W (W = whole step, H = half step).
Counting in semitones from the root: 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. That makes it a 7-note scale.
It is mode 6 of the Major Scale, so both scales share the same notes from a different starting point.
It is also known as Aeolian and Natural Minor.
C# Minor Scale Guitar Patterns
Static diagrams of every position shown in the player above.
On one string (B)
Box pattern — position 1
Box pattern — position 2
Box pattern — position 3
Box pattern — position 4
Box pattern — position 5
3 notes per string — position 1
3 notes per string — position 2
3 notes per string — position 3
3 notes per string — position 4
3 notes per string — position 5
Chords in the C# minor scale
Stacking thirds on each degree of the scale gives these chords.
Related modes
These scales share the same notes as the minor scale, starting from a different degree.
The minor scale in other keys
Created by
Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher
