C minor (Cm)

A minor chord: root, minor third and fifth. Darker than a major chord.

There’s no open shape: it’s played as a barre chord, starting at the 3rd fret. It’s the home chord of the key of C minor; in major keys, you’ll find it in E♭ major, B♭ major and A♭ major.

Notes:: C, E♭, G.
Formula:: 1, ♭3, 5.
Difficulty:: Intermediate.
Strings played:: 5 (from the A string).

Chord diagram

e|--3--|
B|--4--|
G|--5--|
D|--5--|
A|--3--|
E|--x--|

Other positions

e|--8---|
B|--8---|
G|--8---|
D|--10--|
A|--10--|
E|--8---|

Capo tip: put the capo at the 3rd fret and play the A minor shape: you hear C minor, with no barre.The capo

Often played with

The chords in its key, the ones you hear most often around C minor.

e|--1--|
B|--1--|
G|--1--|
D|--3--|
A|--3--|
E|--1--|

F minoriv

e|--3--|
B|--3--|
G|--3--|
D|--5--|
A|--5--|
E|--3--|

G minorv

e|--4--|
B|--4--|
G|--5--|
D|--6--|
A|--6--|
E|--4--|

A♭ major♭VI

e|--1--|
B|--3--|
G|--3--|
D|--3--|
A|--1--|
E|--x--|

B♭ major♭VII