PorchtoneQuick answer: the seven chords in C minor are Cm, D°, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭. The strongest are Cm, Fm and Gm (the i, iv and v); most songs in Cm lean on those.
The chords
| CmiC E♭ G | D°ii°D F A♭ | E♭IIIE♭ G B♭ | FmivF A♭ C | GmvG B♭ D | A♭VIA♭ C E♭ | B♭VIIB♭ D F |
Progressions that sound good in Cm
- AndalusianCm – B♭ – A♭ – G (i VII VI V)
A falling bass line with Spanish drama.
- Night driveCm – A♭ – E♭ – B♭ (i VI III VII)
Dark but moving forward; huge in film and alt-pop.
Playing in Cm with a capo
If the barre chords in Cm are a stretch, put a capo on and play easier open shapes. The song still sounds in Cm.
| Capo | Play these shapes |
|---|---|
| Fret 3 | Am, B°, C, Dm, Em, F (shapes from Am) |
Related keys
C minor shares all its chords with its relative major, E♭ major. Its closest neighbours are G minor and F minor, which share six of its seven notes and make easy key changes.