C natural minor scale
- Notes
- C D Eb F G Ab Bb
- Formula
- 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
- Steps
- W H W W H W W (W tone, H semitone)
- Also called
- C Aeolian, C minor
Seven notes from C up to the next C. Each note is written with the letter its degree names, one letter each, so the spelling follows the formula.
C natural minor on the piano
From C4 to C5, the root in blue-green.
Intervals from C
| Note | Degree | Interval | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | root | 0 |
| D | 2 | major second | 2 |
| Eb | b3 | minor third | 3 |
| F | 4 | perfect fourth | 5 |
| G | 5 | perfect fifth | 7 |
| Ab | b6 | minor sixth | 8 |
| Bb | b7 | minor seventh | 10 |
C natural minor on the guitar
Standard tuning, high e on top as in tablature, open strings to fret 12. Every dot is a note of the scale; the pattern repeats from fret 12 up.
The seven chords of C natural minor
Every other note of the scale stacked on each note. Numerals are measured against the major scale on C, so a b marks a chord root a semitone lower than in major.
| Numeral | Chord | Notes | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| i | Cm | C Eb G | |
| ii° | Ddim | D F Ab | |
| bIII | Eb | Eb G Bb | |
| iv | Fm | F Ab C | |
| v | Gm | G Bb D | |
| bVI | Ab | Ab C Eb | |
| bVII | Bb | Bb D F |
Seventh chords
Same notes, different home note
C natural minor uses exactly the same notes as D Locrian, Eb major, F Dorian, G Phrygian, Ab Lydian and Bb Mixolydian. What changes is the note the music keeps returning to, and with it which chord sounds like home.
The chords, progressions and a capo tip for this scale as a key are on the C minor key page.
How C natural minor is built
The natural minor has the same seven notes as Eb major, its relative major, started from the 6th note. Against C major three notes are a semitone lower: E becomes Eb, A becomes Ab and B becomes Bb. Aeolian is the modal name of this same scale, so it gets no page of its own.
Its 7th, Bb, is a whole tone below C, so the chord on the 5th note is minor and pulls home only weakly. Most music in C minor raises it to B for the V chord: that is the C harmonic minor scale.
Played some notes and not sure which scale they come from? The scale finder listens to the piano, a MIDI keyboard or the microphone and ranks all 180 scales.
What this page cannot do
- One spelling per scale. the root is spelled the way that needs the fewest sharps and flats.
- Equal temperament only. Blues and many folk traditions bend notes between these pitches, and Arabic and Turkish maqam scales use quarter tones that a piano cannot play.
- The guitar diagram shows standard tuning only and does not suggest fingerings; any note can be played in several places.
- The sound is a simple synthesised tone made in your browser, not a recorded instrument.