A/C♯ Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

A/C♯ means “A with C♯ in the bass”: play a A major chord and make C♯ the lowest note. Because C♯ is already in the chord (its major third), this is the first inversion of A.

The notes, low to high, are C♯, A, E. The library above opens on A/C♯ with 14 shapes that keep C♯ at the bottom; tap one to hear it.

Notes in A/C♯

Note	Degree	Interval from A	Semitones
A	1	root	0
C♯	3 (bass)	major third	4
E	5	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – 3 – 5. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord.

How to play A/C♯

Open positionEasyx42220

Fret 5Beginnerxxx655

Fret 7Beginner977xxx

Fret 9Beginnerxx(11)9(10)x

Fret 9Beginner90(11)9xx

Fret 2Mediumx4x255

Fret 9 (bass on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 6th string, 9th fret (C♯, the major third).
2nd finger (middle): 3rd string, 9th fret (E, the fifth).
3rd finger (ring): 4th string, 11th fret (C♯, the major third).
Let the 5th string ring open (A).
Strum from the 6th string, and keep the 2nd string and 1st string quiet (touch the muted string lightly with the finger next to it).

How A/C♯ is used

With the major third in the bass, A/C♯ sounds lighter and less final than plain A: good in the middle of a phrase, not at its end.

In A major, D – A/C♯ – Bm walks the bass down step by step (D, C♯, B) while the chords on top change. Played the other way, Bm – A/C♯ – D, the bass climbs.

When a chord sheet writes A/C♯, play the chord on top and let C♯ be the lowest string you strum; if you play with a bass player, the bass plays C♯.