C7♯5 Chord Voicings on Guitar: 3 Ways to Play It

C7♯5 voicings on guitar

C7♯5 is spelled C – E – G♯ – B♭ (1 3 ♯5 ♭7) — a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Here are 3 ways to voice it on guitar: drop 2, drop 3, shell. Every diagram is playable — press play to hear the chord, or “roll it” to hear the voices one by one, low to high.

3 ways to play C7♯5.

Sound

Root in gold, other voices in teal. Tap any note.

Drop 2

G♯ · C · E · B♭

Take the close voicing and drop its second-highest voice an octave. The most-used four-note voicing on guitar and in piano left hands. Strings E-A-D-G, frets 4-3-2-3.

Drop 3

E · C · G♯ · B♭

Drop the third-highest voice of the close voicing an octave: a wide, open sound. Strings A-G-B-e, frets 7-5-9-6 (position 5).

Shell (1–7–3)

C · B♭ · E

Root, seventh and third only. The fifth is dropped — it adds nothing to the chord's identity — leaving a light, clear voicing. Strings A-G-B, frets 3-3-5 (position 1).

Chord tone	Note	Interval
1	C	unison
3	E	major 3rd
♯5	G♯	minor 6th
♭7	B♭	minor 7th

Chord tone

Note

Interval

unison

major 3rd

♯5

G♯

minor 6th

♭7

B♭

minor 7th

Arpeggio: C7♯5 arpeggio on guitar. Scale: C Whole tone.

C7♯5 voicings FAQ.

What notes are in C7♯5?

C, E, G♯, B♭ — chord tones 1 3 ♯5 ♭7.

What is the easiest C7♯5 voicing on guitar?

The shell voicing (root, seventh, third) on strings A, G, B: three notes, one comfortable shape, and it still sounds unmistakably like C7♯5.

What is a drop-2 voicing?

Start from the close voicing C E G♯ B♭ and drop the second note from the top an octave: G♯ – C – E – B♭. It spreads the chord so it fits the hand — and on guitar it fits four adjacent strings.

Where does C7♯5 appear?

C7♯5 is a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Its character is floating, whole-tone.