Minor key
C minor
Its seven chords: Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭.
- C1
- D2
- E♭3
- F4
- G5
- A♭6
- B♭7
| Degree | Triad | Seventh chord | Notes of the seventh chord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 C | i Cm | i7 Cm7 | C E♭ G B♭ |
| 2 D | ii° Ddim | iiø7 Dm7♭5 | D F A♭ C |
| 3 E♭ | III E♭ | IIImaj7 E♭maj7 | E♭ G B♭ D |
| 4 F | iv Fm | iv7 Fm7 | F A♭ C E♭ |
| 5 G | v Gm | v7 Gm7 | G B♭ D F |
| 6 A♭ | VI A♭ | VImaj7 A♭maj7 | A♭ C E♭ G |
| 7 B♭ | VII B♭ | VII7 B♭7 | B♭ D F A♭ |
| Harmonic minor | V G | G B D | |
| Harmonic minor | V7 G7 | G B D F | |
| Harmonic minor | vii°7 Bdim7 | B D F A♭ | |
- i–iv–V–i
- Cm
- Fm
- G
- Cm
- i–VI–III–VII
- Cm
- A♭
- E♭
- B♭
- i–VII–VI–V
- Cm
- B♭
- A♭
- G
- ii°–V7–i
- Ddim
- G7
- Cm
About C minor
Play C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ and back to the first note again, and you have the scale of C minor. With 3♭ in the signature (B♭, E♭, A♭), it is easy to read once you know the signature. Every chord in the table above is made only from these notes.
Three chords hold C minor together: the tonic Cm, the subdominant Fm and the dominant G. The last one is borrowed from the harmonic minor scale: raising the seventh note to B creates a leading tone that resolves up by a half step to the home note.
Starting the same scale from E♭ gives E flat major, the relative key. Borrowing a chord from C major, the parallel key, is a classic way to add colour: a minor chord in a major key, or a major chord in a minor one, for a moment.
The neighbouring minor keys are G minor and F minor; each is one note away from C minor. The ii chord of the key, Ddim, is diminished, and in jazz it is often played as a half-diminished chord leading to G.
If the barre chords of C minor are hard for you, use a capo on fret 3: the shapes Am, C, Dm, Em, F, G then sound in the right key.
Practise the key in three steps: the scale up and down, the seven chords in order, then one of the progressions above until the changes feel automatic. Ten minutes is enough.