C Minor Chord (Cm)

1Composition: what it contains

C – E♭ – G

Symbol

Cm

Also written

Cm, Cmin, C-

Formula

1 ♭3 5

2Appearance: diagrams and sound

On the guitar

On the ukulele

On the piano

On the staff

On bass and as an arpeggio

3Indications: what it is used for

The ii, iii and vi chords of a major key and the i, iv and (natural) v chords of a minor key are minor triads. It anchors ballads, rock anthems, folk and film music; progressions like vi–IV–I–V, i–VI–III–VII and i–iv–v are built on it. The relative minor (vi) often substitutes for the tonic (I), and minor chords can be extended to m7, m9 or m6 depending on style. In blues-rock, a minor chord on the tonic often supports minor pentatonic soloing.

4Dosage: how to practise it

On guitar, learn the open minor shapes, the barre shapes rooted on the sixth and fifth strings, and three-string triads in all inversions. On piano, play the triad in root position and both inversions, hands separately and together, at 60–80 BPM. Then practise switching between a major chord and its parallel minor to hear the third change. Arpeggiate the chord on bass (1-♭3-5-8). Five minutes daily of i–iv–v and vi–IV–I–V loops will cement it.

5Warnings and common mistakes

The minor third is the only difference from the major chord: make sure your fingering lowers exactly that note. A lowercase 'm' means minor, while 'M' or 'maj' means major; misreading them is a common sight-reading error. A minus sign (-) is also minor. Do not confuse 'm' with 'dim': the diminished chord also lowers the fifth. In dense voicings, keep the minor third clearly audible or the chord becomes ambiguous.

6Interactions with chords, scales and keys

Inversions

• Inversion 1 · Cm/E♭ · E♭ – G – C Play
• Inversion 2 · Cm/G · G – C – E♭ Play

Scales to play over Cm

• C Natural Minor Scale
• C Harmonic Minor Scale
• C Melodic Minor Scale
• C Dorian Mode
• C Phrygian Mode
• C Minor Pentatonic Scale
• C Blues Scale
• C Major Blues Scale
• C Half-Whole Diminished Scale
• C Hungarian Minor Scale

Where it appears (keys and Roman numerals)

• ii – Key of B flat Major
• vi – Key of E flat Major
• iii – Key of A flat Major
• iv – Key of G Minor
• i – Key of C Minor
• v – Key of F Minor

7Other presentations available

The same chord from every note

C♯m Dm E♭m Em Fm F♯m Gm A♭m Am B♭m Bm

Other chords on C

C Cdim Caug Csus2 Csus4 C5 C6 Cm6 C7 Cmaj7 Cm7 Cm7♭5 Cdim7 Cm(maj7) C7sus4 Cadd9 Cm(add9) C6/9 C9 Cmaj9 Cm9 C11 Cm11 C13 C7♭9 C7♯9 C7♯5 C7♭5