C♯6 / D♭6 Chord on Guitar

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

C♯6 (also written D♭6) is a major sixth chord made of 4 notes: C♯, E♯, G♯, A♯. It sounds sweet and old-fashioned, and you hear it in swing, country, surf and the last chord of a jazz tune. It is the I chord of D♭ major and turns up in 5 other keys.

The library above opens on C♯6 with 14 shapes up and down the neck. Tap a shape to hear it, or play it one string at a time.

Notes in C♯6

Note	Degree	Interval from C♯	Semitones
C♯	1	root	0
E♯	3	major third	4
G♯	5	perfect fifth	7
A♯	6	major sixth	9

Formula: 1 – 3 – 5 – 6. On guitar the 5th is often left out of the bigger shapes without changing the chord. With the other spelling, D♭6 is D♭, F, A♭, B♭: the same sounds under different names.

How to play C♯6

Fret 4Easyx46666

Fret 3Beginnerx433xx

E-shape barre at fret 8Easy988(10)9x

Fret 6Beginnerxxx666

Fret 10Beginnerxx(11)(10)(11)x

E-shape barre at fret 6Medium986666

Fret 4 (root on the 5th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 5th string, 4th fret (C♯, the root).
2nd finger (middle): across the 4th string and 3rd string and 2nd string and 1st string at the 6th fret (G♯, C♯, E♯, A♯).
Strum from the 5th string, and keep the 6th string quiet.

Tips

The fret 4 shape is the one to learn first. Once it is easy, try the shape at the 8th fret (988(10)9x): the same chord, higher and brighter, handy when the chords before and after it sit up the neck.

Keys and progressions with C♯6

C♯6 belongs to 6 keys: I in D♭ major, V in F♯ major, IV in A♭ major, VII in E♭ minor, VI in F minor, III in B♭ minor. In D♭ major, try I–V–vi–IV: C♯6 – A♭ – B♭m – G♭.