Julie Swihart

Major Key Chords

Let’s look at how to find chords for the key of C sharp major. You can use these chords to create chord progressions and play creatively in the key of C sharp.

How to Find Chords for C Sharp

The first thing we’ll need to do is build a C sharp major scale (learn how to build a major scale here).

Here’s a C sharp major scale:

C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B♯ – C♯

That’s a lot of sharps! C sharp major has seven sharps, which is as many as a scale can have.

So to find the chords for this key, we’ll build a “1 – 3 – 5” chord off each note of the scale, using only the notes of the scale to build the chords.

Starting on C♯, we’ll count “1 – 3 – 5” using the notes of the scale. When we do, we get: C♯ – E♯ – G♯

Then we’ll start on D♯ and build another “1 – 3 – 5” chord using only the notes of the scale: D♯ – F♯ – A♯

Then we’ll start on E♯ and build another “1 – 3 – 5” chord using only the notes of the scale: E♯ – G♯ – B♯

We can continue this pattern, using only the notes of the scale to build a “1 – 3 – 5” chord off each note of the scale.

Chords for Major Keys Printable

This 20-page PDF will help you learn the chords for every major key! Use these chords to build chord progressions and play creatively.

Get the Printable

Chords for the Key of C Sharp Major

Here are the chords for the key of C sharp:

C♯ – E♯ – G♯ = C♯ major chord

D♯ – F♯ – A♯ = D♯ minor chord

E♯ – G♯ – B♯ = E♯ minor chord

F♯ – A♯ – C♯ = F♯ major chord

G♯ – B♯ – D♯ = G♯ major chord

A♯ – C♯ – E♯ = A♯ minor chord

B♯ – D♯ – F♯ = B♯ diminished chord

Other Major Key Chords

You can find chords for the other major keys below:

C Major Chords
G Major Chords
D Major Chords
A Major Chords
E Major Chords
B Major Chords
F Sharp Major Chords
F Major Chords
B Flat Major Chords
E Flat Major Chords
A Flat Major Chords
D Flat Major Chords
G Flat Major Chords
C Flat Major Chords

Enharmonic Keys

Some keys are considered “enharmonic”. This means they use the same notes on the piano, but go by two different names.

The key of C sharp major is enharmonic with D flat major, because these two keys use the same notes on the piano, but are labeled differently.

There are six total enharmonic keys:

B major and C flat major
F sharp major and G flat major
C sharp major and D flat major

To understand these relationships better, take a look at the circle of fifths.

How to Label the Chords

There are four kinds of “1 – 3 – 5” chords, or “triads”:

Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished

The difference between these chord types depends on the intervals used to build the chords (learn all about piano intervals here).

But to summarize:

Major chords are built using the first, third and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

Minor chords are major chords with the middle note lowered 1/2 step.

Augmented chords are major chords with the upper-note raised 1/2 step.

Diminished chords are minor chords with the upper-note lowered 1/2 step.

When we build a chord off each note of a major scale, using only the notes of the scale to build the chords, we will always get these chords in this order:

Major
Minor
Minor
Major
Major
Minor
Diminished

So you can use this pattern to find the chords for any major key!

Primary Chords for the Key of C Sharp

Each major key has three “primary” chords. We can find the primary chords for a major key by building a chord off the first, fourth and fifth notes of the matching major scale.

The primary chords for the key of C sharp are:

C♯ major
F♯ major
G♯ major

We’ll use these chords often when playing in the key of C sharp.

Conclusion

Now you know how to find the chords for the key of C sharp major, and you can use this pattern to find the chords for any major key.

It’s so much fun to take the chords belonging to a particular key and use them to create chord progressions and play creatively at the piano!