C# Minor Scale
C sharp natural minor runs C sharp, D sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp, A, B and back to C sharp. It uses four sharps, the same key signature as E major. The last B is a whole step below C sharp.
- Notes: C sharp-D sharp-E-F sharp-G sharp-A-B
- Key signature: four sharps
- Relative major: E major
How is the scale built?
C sharp-D sharp-E-F sharp-G sharp-A-B-C sharp follows the natural-minor steps: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole. D sharp-E and G sharp-A are its half steps. Play those pairs first if the key signature feels crowded.
C sharp-E-G sharp is the tonic minor chord. Change E to E sharp, the key labeled F on a piano, and you make a C-sharp-major chord instead. That changes the third of the chord, a different operation from raising the seventh.
Why does E major share its notes?
E major contains E-F sharp-G sharp-A-B-C sharp-D sharp. Both scales draw on the same seven pitches. Play E-G sharp-B over E, then C sharp-E-G sharp over C sharp. The chord and ending can establish a different center even while the key signature remains four sharps.
Where does B sharp appear?
In C sharp harmonic minor, the seventh B rises to B sharp, which uses the piano key labeled C. It sits immediately below C sharp. That note also turns the fifth chord from G sharp minor, G sharp-B-D sharp, into G sharp major, G sharp-B sharp-D sharp.
Try G sharp minor-C sharp minor, then G sharp major-C sharp minor. Follow the note called B sharp in the second pair. Harmonic Minor covers the general raised-seventh idea.
Practice one comparison
Play C sharp-E-G sharp as a chord. Sing or play B-C sharp above it, then B sharp-C sharp. Keep the tonic chord unchanged so the altered seventh is the only thing you are comparing.