Guitar · key of C minor

Chords in the key of C minor

The seven chords in the key of C minor are Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭ and B♭. E♭, A♭ and B♭ are the major chords (III, VI and VII), Cm, Fm and Gm are the minor chords (i, iv and v), and Ddim is diminished (ii°). Its relative major is E♭ major, which uses the same seven chords.

Key

Scale

The chords of C minor
Numeral	Triad	Notes	Seventh chord	Notes	Number	Role
i	Cmhome	C E♭ G	Cm7home	C E♭ G B♭	1m	tonic
ii°	Ddimthe edge	D F A♭	Dm7♭5the edge	D F A♭ C	2°	supertonic
III	E♭daylight	E♭ G B♭	E♭maj7daylight	E♭ G B♭ D	3	mediant
iv	Fmsoft fall	F A♭ C	Fm7soft fall	F A♭ C E♭	4m	subdominant
v	Gmsoft fall	G B♭ D	Gm7soft fall	G B♭ D F	5m	dominant
VI	A♭cinematic	A♭ C E♭	A♭maj7cinematic	A♭ C E♭ G	6	submediant
VII	B♭heroic	B♭ D F	B♭7heroic	B♭ D F A♭	7	subtonic
V	Gthe pull	G B D	G7the pull	G B D F	5	often used in place of Gm

Sound

Strum or arpeggiate any chord, tap a note to hear it, drag the strip under a picture to play it further up the neck, or pick another inversion. Library opens the chord there, with every other way to play it.

Cm

LibraryStandard

i · tonic

Ddim

LibraryStandard

ii° · supertonic

E♭

LibraryStandard

III · mediant

Fm

LibraryStandard

iv · subdominant

Gm

LibraryStandard

v · dominant

A♭

LibraryStandard

VI · submediant

B♭

LibraryStandard

VII · subtonic

Chord progressions in C minor

Press a chord to hear it and see its shape, or Play to hear the progression on guitar. The colours say what each chord does in the key.

Sound Pattern Tempo85

↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.

Colours

home, minorthe pullthe edgeheroiccinematicsoft falldaylight

What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.

The minor key’s three chords

i | iv | v | i

Key Chord chart

i–iv–v–i, the minor key’s own three chords.

The epic minor progression

i | VI | III | VII

Key Chord chart

i–VI–III–VII, the sound of film scores and rock anthems.

The Andalusian cadence

i | VII | VI | V

Key Chord chart

Stepping down to a major fifth chord, heard in flamenco and in many rock songs.

To the relative major

i | iv | VII | III

Key Chord chart

i–iv–VII–III, a minor progression that lands on the relative major.

Climbing back home

i | VI | VII | i

Key Chord chart

i–VI–VII–i, common in rock and metal.

The minor ii–V–i

iiø7 | V7 | i7 | i7

Key Chord chart

The minor turnaround of jazz, in seventh chords.

The major fifth chord

In a minor key the fifth chord is often played major, G or G7 in place of Gm. Its third is the leading note of the harmonic minor scale, a half step below C, and it pulls back to Cm more strongly.

The relative major: E♭ major

E♭ major has the same notes and the same seven chords as C minor, starting from E♭. A song in one often moves to the other. The parallel major, C major, starts on the same note with a different set of chords.

Play it with a capo

C minor takes barre chords on guitar. A capo lets you play it with the open shapes of an easier key:

Capo 3, the shapes of A minor: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F and G

The C minor scale and key signature

The notes of C minor are C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭. Its key signature has three flats: E♭, A♭ and B♭. Each chord of the key is built from these notes, a third apart: a chord on every note of the scale. See the C minor scale on the guitar neck, and the C minor pentatonic.

Keys nearby

On the circle of fifths, G minor and F minor sit on either side of C minor. Each shares six of its seven notes, which makes them the easiest keys to change to.

Every key

C D♭D E♭E F F♯G A♭A B♭B

C minor C♯ minor D minor E♭ minor E minor F minor F♯ minor G minor G♯ minor A minor B♭ minor B minor

All twenty-four on one page: chords in every key. To print these chords, open them as a chord chart, or make your own in the chord chart maker. This key on bass, ukulele, mandolin and banjo.