Chord & FretHarmonic field of C# minor
The harmonic field of C# minor is the set of seven chords born from the C# minor scale — one on each of its notes. The table shows each in two versions: the triad (the three-note chord) and the seventh chord (the same chord with a fourth note, the seventh, that enriches it).
Notes: C# – D# – E – F# – G# – A – B| Degree | Triad | Seventh | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | C#m | C#m7C#m7C#m7C#m7 | tonic |
| ii° | D#° | D#m7b5 | subdominant |
| III | E | Emaj7Emaj7Emaj7Emaj7 | tonic |
| iv | F#m | F#m7F#m7F#m7F#m7 | subdominant |
| v | G#m | G#m7G#m7G#m7G#m7 | dominant |
| VI | A | Amaj7Amaj7Amaj7Amaj7 | tonic |
| VII | B | B7B7B7B7 | dominant |
The roman numerals mark the chord's position in the scale: I is the first degree, V the fifth. Uppercase = major chord; lowercase = minor; ° = diminished.
Tonic chords stabilize and rest; subdominant chords prepare motion; dominant chords build the tension that asks for resolution.
This is the natural-minor field. In practice the v often becomes V (major) or V7 — borrowed from the harmonic minor — to create the leading tone that pulls back to the tonic.
The tonic chord on all four instruments
In Chord & Fret, open the Circle of Fifths, pick C# minor and hear every degree — triads and sevenths, with fretboard positions and the key's secondary dominants. Open in Chord & Fret →