Cm electric guitar chord
Cm (C minor) is built from C, Eb and G, the degrees 1–b3–5. On electric guitar, the main shape is x 3 5 5 4 3, the first diagram, marked with the star.
From C major to Cm, a single note moves — and it feels like the season changed. Tap the player below and check.
Hear Cm before you play
Why Cm sounds this way
The trick is smaller than it sounds. Two of the three notes didn't move: C and G stayed put. Only the middle one dropped — a half step, the smallest distance in music — and became D#. Go back to the audio and catch the arpeggio note by note and stop at the second note. That's the one. Half a step separates a sunny day from a Monday morning.
How to play Cm on electric guitar
On the electric guitar a chord needs only a few clear notes — the amp sustains them and fills the space, so you mute the strings you are not playing and let the tone carry the rest. So the first position below is your way in — it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. And do the exercise that's worth a whole lesson: C major, then Cm, then major again. Back and forth ten times, slowly. Your ear learns the difference before your brain does.
In the app: 28 Cm shapes on electric guitar
With the fingering and audio of each one, free. In the app, the arpeggio of each shape is part of Pro.
Precision Tuner: Get in tune before you play: chromatic tuner and reference tones, free in standard tuning · try it in Chord and Fret
Got the first one? Good — the other positions will wait right here. In songs that travel up and down the neck, that's where you'll end up living.
Left-handed? Mirror's right here
Cm notes and degrees
Cm stacks the root C, the minor third Eb and the perfect fifth G.
Where Cm shows up
In real music, Cm works almost always as i in C minor, v in F minor, iv in G minor. In global pop it's the famous vi: the serious detour a chorus takes without leaving the key. You've heard it a thousand times; now you'll start noticing it.
Transpose & Capo: Need it in another key? Transpose the progression for free; finding the best capo is part of Pro · see it in Chord and Fret
Identify Chord: Found a shape on your fretboard? Mark it on the screen and the app names the chord, 5 times a day for free · open in Chord and Fret
Real songs pass through here: Pagode · pagode cycle · Pagode · climb · Samba · circle-of-fifths progression · Samba · ii-V-I
Where Cm usually goes
Treating Cm as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (Fm) or the dominant (G7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.
Going beyond Cm
When it's time to improvise, C Dorian (C D Eb F G A Bb · 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7: the minor scale with a major sixth — the minor that smirks); C Aeolian (C D Eb F G Ab Bb · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the natural minor, the major scale's relative sibling); C Phrygian (C Db Eb F G Ab Bb · 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the minor with a lowered second — a Spanish seasoning) work in full. The swaps below are the chord's cousins: different color, same job.
C Dorian
In the app: the 7 positions of C Dorian on electric guitar
With degree, note and finger labels on each one, free. Playing the whole scale is part of Pro.
The same C Dorian in its main shapes along the neck — pick whichever position sits under your hand. The rings mark the guide notes (the 3rd and 7th) that carry this chord's color.
Scale: The scale's positions across the neck, with degree, note and finger labels, free; playing the scale and the tempo-ramp exercise are part of Pro · try it in Chord and Fret
Scales to improvise over Cm
To improvise over Cm as home, the C Aeolian scale covers it whole: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (G) pulls back, the leading tone B is the note that wants to resolve home.
Swaps that work:
Reharmonize: Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize's Subtle and Medium levels are free; Bold and Jazz are part of Pro · use it in Chord and Fret
This chord has a calmer sibling: Cm7. Same seriousness, relaxed shoulders — worth the visit.
Cm chord questions
What notes are in the Cm chord?
The Cm chord is made of the notes C, Eb and G.
How do you play Cm on electric guitar?
Form the shape from string 6 to string 1: x 3 5 5 4 3. “x” means that string does not sound. The shape starts at fret 3.
What chord comes after Cm?
Treating Cm as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it tends to go toward the pre-dominant (Fm) or the dominant (G7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.
What scale works over Cm?
To improvise over Cm as home, the C Aeolian scale covers it whole: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want.