What notes are in the C Minor chord?

The C Minor chord contains C, E♭ and G (C, Eb and G in plain text).

How do you play C Minor on piano?

Place your fingers on C, E♭ and G and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard E♭ is a black key and C and G are white.

What chords work well with C Minor?

C Minor pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.

C Minor Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes

The C Minor chord is built on the root note C. Its notes are C, E♭ and G.

Transpose

Quality

Short answer

Minor chords have a darker, more introspective quality. A root, a minor third and a perfect fifth give them a reflective, sometimes sad character that's common in ballads, folk and film scores.

Notes: C · E♭ · G
Formula: 1 · ♭3 · 5
Semitones: 0 · 3 · 7
Note: C
Quality: Minor
Symbol: Cm

C Minor on piano

3 notes

View:

Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

To play C Minor on piano, place your right hand with your thumb on C, middle finger on E♭ and little finger on G. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. On the keyboard E♭ is a black key and C and G are white. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.

C1
E♭♭3
G5

C Minor on guitar

View:

Guitar chord diagram of the C Minor chord

Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

On guitar, C Minor is commonly played with the voicing shown above. This one is a barre at fret 8: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. If the full barre won't ring yet, play strings 4 to 1 only: they already hold all three notes.

C · E♭ · G

Try C Minor on the virtual piano

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C Minor chord notes

Degree	Interval	Semitones	Note
1	Root	0	C
♭3	Minor third	3	E♭(Eb)
5	Perfect fifth	7	G

How to use the C Minor chord

The C Minor chord is built from a root, a minor third and a perfect fifth. Start at the root C and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: C, E♭ and G. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.

Minor chords are everywhere in rock, pop, classical and film music. They often act as the vi chord in major keys or as the i, iv and v in a natural minor key.

In major keys Cm is the ii in B♭ major, the vi in E♭ major and the iii in A♭ major; in minor keys it's the iv in G minor, the i in C minor and the v in F minor.

How C Minor differs from similar chords

Cm differs from C by a single note, a third that sits a half step lower. Unlike C°, it keeps a perfect fifth, which is why it sounds sad rather than unstable. Add a minor seventh and you get Cm7, a softer version of the same chord.

Songs that use the C Minor chord

These well-known tracks all play the C Minor chord somewhere - they are not necessarily in that key.

1
Billie Jean
Michael Jackson
2
Rolling in the Deep
Adele
3
Get Lucky
Daft Punk
4
In the Air Tonight
Phil Collins
5
Personal Jesus
Depeche Mode

Where C Minor is used

A minor chord works as the tonic of its own key, and as the vi or the ii of a major one. Each progression below is written in the key its numerals name.

As a minor tonicC minor

The natural-minor loop - every chord is drawn from the key's own seven notes.

As the vi in a major keyE♭ major

A turnaround. C Minor is the relative minor of E♭, which softens the way back to the tonic.

As the ii in a ii-V-IB♭ major

iiCm
V7F7
IB♭

The standard cadence: C Minor carries the subdominant function before the dominant arrives.

Scales that contain Cm

These scales include Cm as one of their diatonic chords. Use them to find melodies and improvisation ideas that fit perfectly.

C Natural Minor

C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭

C Harmonic Minor

C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B

C Melodic Minor

C · D · E♭ · F · G · A · B

C Dorian

C · D · E♭ · F · G · A · B♭

C Phrygian

C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭

C Aeolian

C · D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭

C Hungarian Minor

C · D · E♭ · F♯ · G · A♭ · B

C Neapolitan Major

C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G · A · B

C Neapolitan Minor

C · D♭ · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B

D Phrygian

D · E♭ · F · G · A · B♭ · C

D Locrian

D · E♭ · F · G · A♭ · B♭ · C

D Phrygian Dominant

D · E♭ · F♯ · G · A · B♭ · C

Questions people ask

What notes are in the C Minor chord?: The C Minor chord contains C, E♭ and G (C, Eb and G in plain text).
Is the C Minor chord major or minor?: C Minor is a minor chord. Minor chords have a darker, more introspective quality. A root, a minor third and a perfect fifth give them a reflective, sometimes sad character that's common in ballads, folk and film scores.
What key is the C Minor chord in?: In major keys Cm is the ii in B♭ major, the vi in E♭ major and the iii in A♭ major; in minor keys it's the iv in G minor, the i in C minor and the v in F minor.
How do you play C Minor on piano?: Place your fingers on C, E♭ and G and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right. On the keyboard E♭ is a black key and C and G are white.
How do you play C Minor on guitar?: Use the fingering in the diagram above. This one is a barre at fret 8: keep the index finger flat across the strings and curve the others so they don't mute the strings next to them. If the full barre won't ring yet, play strings 4 to 1 only: they already hold all three notes.
What chords work well with C Minor?: C Minor pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.

Related chords, scales and keys

Chords

Scales

Keys