C minor chord
The relative minor of E♭ major: the same notes, a darker centre.
- How it sounds
- Softer and darker than C major. C to E♭ is three frets, one fewer than in the major chord, and that single fret is the whole difference. There’s no open grip. The lowest of its three grips is the Am form, at the 3rd fret.
- Where it lives
- The vi of E♭ major, the ii of B♭ major and the iii of A♭ major. As E♭ major’s relative minor it has the same notes; in B♭ major it’s the chord that sets up F. On the minor side it’s the i of C minor and the iv of G minor. Jazz, soul and film music, where it’s often the ii of a tune in B♭. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is in C minor.
Voicings across the neck
C, E♭ and G are shown in three places on the neck. Minor has three movable shapes in common use, the open Em, Am and Dm grips, and each is moved so its root lands on C. Lowest on the neck, the Am form at the 3rd fret is a barre across five strings, with the root on the A string. The Em form at the 8th is the full six-string barre, and the Dm form at the 10th uses only the top four strings.
- High E string: G at fret 3
- B string: E♭ at fret 4
- G string: C at fret 5
- D string: G at fret 5
- A string: C at fret 3
- Low E string: not played
- High E string: C at fret 8
- B string: G at fret 8
- G string: E♭ at fret 8
- D string: C at fret 10
- A string: G at fret 10
- Low E string: C at fret 8
- High E string: E♭ at fret 11
- B string: C at fret 13
- G string: G at fret 12
- D string: C at fret 10
- A string: not played
- Low E string: not played
Formula
| Intervals | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| R · m3 · P5: what each interval does in a chord | C · E♭ · G | 3 + 4 |
C minor is a root, a minor third and a perfect fifth: C, E♭ and G, the first, third and fifth notes of the C natural minor scale. Three then four is what makes a chord minor. Turn the gaps round, four then three, and you get C major: C, E, G.
In these keys and scales
C minor turns up in twelve scales on the site. It’s home, the i, in C minor, C harmonic minor and C melodic minor. In E♭ major it’s the vi, the relative minor, and in B♭ major it’s the ii. On the minor side it’s the iv of G minor and the v of F minor. The numeral beside each scale names the job, and the name opens that scale’s page.
| Family | Scales |
|---|---|
| Major | |
| Natural minor | |
| Harmonic minor | |
| Melodic minor | |
| Pentatonic |
Progressions
Cm does a different job in each of these. In vi–IV–I–V it opens the loop in E♭ major, the same four chords as I–V–vi–IV started from the minor. In ii–V–I it sets up F, which resolves to B♭. Only in i–VII–VI is it home, and the bass steps down two frets at a time from C, to B♭ and then A♭.