C Minor Guitar Chords and Chord Progressions

The key of C minor has three flats. For reference, here are the notes in the C minor scale:

  • C
  • D
  • E Flat
  • F
  • G
  • A Flat
  • B Flat

All the chords in the key of C minor are made up of these seven notes, and each note gets to be the root note for one of the chords, thus making seven triad chords in this key.

  • C Minor
  • D Diminished
  • E Flat Major
  • F Minor
  • G Minor
  • A Flat Major
  • B Flat Major

Note: In this article I’m using guitar chord charts that I created using Microsoft Paint. Here are all the guitar chord charts that are free to use personally and commercially under Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License.

i Chord — C Minor or C Minor Seventh

The first chord (i) in the key of C minor is the C minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the C minor chord on guitar.

C Minor chord chart for guitar

The C minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the i chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the C minor seventh chord.

C Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

iidim Chord — D Diminished or D Minor Seventh Flat Five

The second chord (iidim) in the key of C minor is the D diminished chord. Below is my preferred way to play the D diminished chord on guitar.

D Diminished chord chart for guitar

The D minor seventh flat five chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iidim chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the D minor seventh flat five chord.

D Minor Seventh Flat Five chord chart for guitar

III Chord — E Flat Major or E Flat Major Seventh

The third chord (III) in the key of C minor is the E flat major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the E flat major chord on guitar.

E Flat Major chord chart for guitar

The E flat major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the III chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the E flat major seventh chord.

E Flat Major Seventh chord chart for guitar

iv Chord — F Minor or F Minor Seventh

The fourth chord (iv) in the key of C minor is the F minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the F minor chord on guitar.

F Minor chord chart for guitar

The F minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the iv chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the F minor seventh chord.

F Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

v Chord — G Minor or G Minor Seventh

The fifth chord (v) in the key of C minor is the G minor chord. Below is my preferred way to play the G minor chord on guitar.

G Minor chord chart for guitar

The G minor seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the v chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the G minor seventh chord.

G Minor Seventh chord chart for guitar

VI Chord — A Flat Major or A Flat Major Seventh

The sixth chord (VI) in the key of C minor is the A flat major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the A flat major chord on guitar.

A Flat Major chord chart for guitar

The A flat major seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the VI chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the A flat major seventh chord.

A Flat Major Seventh chord chart for guitar

VII Chord — B Flat Major or B Flat Dominant Seventh

The seventh chord (VII) in the key of C minor is the B flat major chord. Below is my preferred way to play the B flat major chord on guitar.

B Flat Major chord chart for guitar

The B flat dominant seventh chord is the corresponding 7th chord for the VII chord in the key of C minor. Below is my favorite way to play the B flat dominant seventh chord.

B Flat Dominant Seventh chord chart for guitar

Chord Progressions in the Key of C Minor

Here are 10 chord progressions in the key of C Minor that you can experiment with. I have included guitar tablature to make playing the chords easier for you.

1. C Minor, F Minor, G Minor

E| --3---3-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --4---4-----1---1-----3---3---
G| --5---5-----1---1-----3---3---
D| --5---5-----3---3-----5---5---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----5---5---
E| ------------1---1-----3---3---

2. C Minor, F Minor, A Flat Major, G Minor

E| --3---3-----1---1-----4---4-----3---3---
B| --4---4-----1---1-----4---4-----3---3---
G| --5---5-----1---1-----5---5-----3---3---
D| --5---5-----3---3-----6---6-----5---5---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----6---6-----5---5---
E| ------------1---1-----4---4-----3---3---

3. C Minor, A Flat Major, E Flat Major, F Minor

E| --3---3-----4---4-----6---6-----1---1---
B| --4---4-----4---4-----8---8-----1---1---
G| --5---5-----5---5-----8---8-----1---1---
D| --5---5-----6---6-----8---8-----3---3---
A| --3---3-----6---6-----6---6-----3---3---
E| ------------4---4---------------1---1---

4. C Minor, B Flat Major, A Flat Major

E| --3---3-----1---1-----4---4---
B| --4---4-----3---3-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----3---3-----5---5---
D| --5---5-----3---3-----6---6---
A| --3---3-----1---1-----6---6---
E| ----------------------4---4---

5. C Minor, F Minor, E Flat Major, A Flat Major

E| --3---3-----1---1-----6---6-----4---4---
B| --4---4-----1---1-----8---8-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----1---1-----8---8-----5---5---
D| --5---5-----3---3-----8---8-----6---6---
A| --3---3-----3---3-----6---6-----6---6---
E| ------------1---1---------------4---4---

6. C Minor, D Diminished, G Minor, C Minor

E| --3---3---------------3---3-----3---3---
B| --4---4-----6---6-----3---3-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----7---7-----3---3-----5---5---
D| --5---5-----6---6-----5---5-----5---5---
A| --3---3-----5---5-----5---5-----3---3---
E| ----------------------3---3-------------

7. A Flat Major, B Flat Major, C Minor

E| --4---4-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --4---4-----3---3-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----3---3-----5---5---
D| --6---6-----3---3-----5---5---
A| --6---6-----1---1-----3---3---
E| --4---4-----------------------

8. C Minor, A Flat Major, E Flat Major, B Flat Major

E| --3---3-----4---4-----6---6-----1---1---
B| --4---4-----4---4-----8---8-----3---3---
G| --5---5-----5---5-----8---8-----3---3---
D| --5---5-----6---6-----8---8-----3---3---
A| --3---3-----6---6-----6---6-----1---1---
E| ------------4---4-----------------------

9. C Minor, A Flat Major, C Minor, A Flat Major

E| --3---3-----4---4-----3---3-----4---4---
B| --4---4-----4---4-----4---4-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----5---5-----5---5-----5---5---
D| --5---5-----6---6-----5---5-----6---6---
A| --3---3-----6---6-----3---3-----6---6---
E| ------------4---4---------------4---4---

10. C Minor, G Minor, C Minor, F Minor

E| --3---3-----3---3-----3---3-----1---1---
B| --4---4-----3---3-----4---4-----1---1---
G| --5---5-----3---3-----5---5-----1---1---
D| --5---5-----5---5-----5---5-----3---3---
A| --3---3-----5---5-----3---3-----3---3---
E| ------------3---3---------------1---1---

11. C Minor, E Flat Major, B Flat Major, C Minor

E| --3---3-----6---6-----1---1-----3---3---
B| --4---4-----8---8-----3---3-----4---4---
G| --5---5-----8---8-----3---3-----5---5---
D| --5---5-----8---8-----3---3-----5---5---
A| --3---3-----6---6-----1---1-----3---3---
E| ----------------------------------------

12. C Minor, A Flat Major, E Flat Major, F Minor

E| --3---3-----4---4-----6---6-----1---1---
B| --4---4-----4---4-----8---8-----1---1---
G| --5---5-----5---5-----8---8-----1---1---
D| --5---5-----6---6-----8---8-----3---3---
A| --3---3-----6---6-----6---6-----3---3---
E| ------------4---4---------------1---1---

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