Chord Colors

C sharp minor major seven flat five chord
PianoGuitar
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About the C sharp minor major seven flat five chord

C sharp minor major seven flat five sits outside the plain diatonic set, so it is borrowed to add color and tension. Think of it as a C♯ minor-major seventh flat five chord.

Its notes are C♯, E, G, and B♯. The intervals are a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a major seventh.

Also called diminished major seventh and dim(maj7). D flat minor major seven flat five spells the same notes enharmonically. In shorthand it is commonly written C#mMaj7b5.

Learn more about the C♯mMaj7♭5 chord

Positions

Position 1 of 4

Notes and intervals

1C#C♯Root
2EEMinor 3rd
3GGDiminished 5th
4B#B♯Major 7th

Shapes

Chromatic

CC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B

Circle of Fifths

CGDAEBF♯G♭C♯D♭G♯A♭D♯E♭A♯B♭F

Other C sharp chords

Simpler triads

C sharp five chordC sharp major chordC sharp minor chordC sharp diminished chordC sharp augmented chord

Suspended

C sharp suspended two chordC sharp suspended four chordC sharp seven suspended four chordC sharp nine suspended four chordC sharp thirteen suspended four chord

Sixths and sevenths

C sharp six chordC sharp minor six chordC sharp minor flat six chordC sharp seven chordC sharp major seven chordC sharp minor seven chordC sharp minor seven flat five chordC sharp diminished seven chordC sharp minor major seven chordC sharp major seven flat five chordC sharp major seven sharp five chord

Extensions

C sharp nine chordC sharp add nine chordC sharp major nine chordC sharp minor nine chordC sharp eleven chordC sharp thirteen chordC sharp six nine chordC sharp minor add nine chordC sharp major eleven chordC sharp major thirteen chordC sharp minor eleven chordC sharp minor thirteen chordC sharp minor six nine chordC sharp minor major nine chordC sharp minor major eleven chord

Altered

C sharp seven sharp five chordC sharp seven flat five chordC sharp seven flat nine chordC sharp seven sharp nine chordC sharp nine flat five chordC sharp nine sharp eleven chordC sharp nine sharp five chord

Functional relationships

These chords are where this one most naturally comes from and resolves to inside a key.

Relative major

E major chord Learn more about Relative major

The relative major uses the same notes and key signature, so it works as a brighter home base.

Parallel major

C sharp major chord Learn more about Parallel major

The parallel major keeps the same root note but raises the third, giving the same key a brighter, happier sound.

Dominant

G sharp major chord Learn more about Dominant

The dominant is a fifth above the root, and it builds tension that pulls strongly back to this chord.

Subdominant

F sharp minor chord Learn more about Subdominant

The subdominant is a fourth above the root (a fifth below), and it usually leads on to the dominant or back home.

Tritone substitution

D seven chord Learn more about Tritone substitution

The tritone substitution stands in for this chord's dominant with a dominant seventh a half step above the root, which slides down by a half step to resolve here.

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C♯mMaj7♭5 chord on guitar shown as colored note dots
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