C minor the chords in the key
- Scale
- C D Eb F G Ab Bb
- Key signature
- three flats: Bb Eb Ab
- Relative major
- Eb major
The seven chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Cm | C Eb G | |
| ii° | Ddim | D F Ab | |
| III | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| iv | Fm | F Ab C | |
| v | Gm | G Bb D | |
| VI | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| VII | Bb | Bb D F |
Seventh chords
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i7 | Cm7 | C Eb G Bb | |
| iiø7 | Dm7b5 | D F Ab C | |
| IIImaj7 | Ebmaj7 | Eb G Bb D | |
| iv7 | Fm7 | F Ab C Eb | |
| v7 | Gm7 | G Bb D F | |
| VImaj7 | Abmaj7 | Ab C Eb G | |
| VII7 | Bb7 | Bb D F Ab |
V and V7: the raised-seventh V most songs use
From the harmonic minor scale: the seventh note raised a semitone, Bb to B.
Common progressions in C minor
- i–iv–v straight from the natural minor scale
- i–VI–III–VII the minor pop loop
- i–iv–V with the raised-seventh V, which pulls harder back to i
On guitar
Capo 3. With a capo on fret 3, play the open shapes Am for Cm, Dm for Fm, E for G: they sound as the i, iv and V (Cm, Fm and G). The VI chord, Ab, does not become an open shape at that fret.
How the chords of C minor work
C minor uses the notes C D Eb F G Ab Bb, three flats: Bb Eb Ab: the natural minor scale, the same notes as Eb major, its relative major. Its chords from the scale are i Cm, ii° Ddim, III Eb, iv Fm, v Gm, VI Ab, VII Bb.
In practice most songs in C minor play G or G7 as the V chord instead of Gm: raising Bb to B gives a note a semitone below C that pulls back to it. That raised seventh comes from the harmonic minor scale (C D Eb F G Ab B). So a song with both Bb and G in it is still in C minor, and the finder counts G and G7 as belonging to this key.
Have a list of chords and not sure of the key? The key finder scores it against all 24 keys and can transpose it.
What this page cannot do
- Only major and minor keys. Dorian, Mixolydian and the other modes are not covered: a song in D Mixolydian (D, C, G) uses the chords of G major and will look like G major here.
- Finding a key from chord names is a best fit, not a certainty. A chord list cannot tell a key from its relative major, which shares every chord; the melody and where the song comes to rest decide it.
- Songs change key. A bridge or a last chorus a step higher is a new key, with its own page.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, each chord in root position, not a recorded piano or guitar.