Arpeggio · C♯m6 · Guitar
The C♯m6 arpeggio is C♯ – E – G♯ – A♯ — chord tones 1 ♭3 5 6. C♯m6 is a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below; its sound is minor but bright. Below, every C♯, E, G♯, A♯ on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play loops the arpeggio up and down one octave (switch Loop off for a single pass) in the position starting at fret 4. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from C♯ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C♯ | unison (0 semitones) |
| ♭3 | E | minor 3rd (3 semitones) |
| 5 | G♯ | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
| 6 | A♯ | major 6th (9 semitones) |
Goes with: D♭ Melodic minor (D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ C). Voicings: C♯m6 voicings on guitar.
Common questions
C♯ – E – G♯ – A♯. As chord tones: 1 ♭3 5 6. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
C♯m6 is a minor tonic with a Dorian colour, or a rootless 9th of a dominant a fourth below. Its character is minor but bright.
D♭ Melodic minor (D♭ E♭ F♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ C) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root C♯ on the A string at fret 4 and play A-string fret 4, A-string fret 7, D-string fret 6, D-string fret 8, G-string fret 6. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a minor tonic with a Dorian colour.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Minor 6th hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from C♯