What notes are in a C minor chord?

C minor contains three notes: C (the root), E♭ (the minor third), and G (the perfect fifth).

How do you play C minor on guitar?

Most commonly an A-shape barre at the 3rd fret: index finger across strings 5–1 on the 3rd fret, ring finger on the 5th fret of the 4th string, pinky on the 5th fret of the 3rd string, middle finger on the 4th fret of the 2nd string.

How is C minor different from C major?

Only the third changes. C major has E natural (a major third); C minor has E♭ (a minor third). The root and fifth are the same.

What pieces are famous in C minor?

Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, his "Pathétique" Sonata Op. 13, his Piano Concerto No. 3, and Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 491 are all in C minor. The key has a long association with serious, dramatic, often heroic material.

C minor chord — notes, intervals, and practice

C minor is the dark, dramatic counterpart to C major — Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, his "Pathétique" Sonata, and Mozart's K. 491 Piano Concerto are all anchored here. The chord contains C, E♭, and G. C minor sits at the centre of the flat side of the circle of fifths and is one of the most common minor keys in classical and film music.

Intervals

The C minor chord stacks two thirds on the root. Each interval and its size in semitones:

C→Ebminor 3rd3 semitones
Eb→Gmajor 3rd4 semitones
C→Gperfect 5th7 semitones

On the keyboard

Each note of the C minor chord highlighted on a piano. Pitch class is what matters — any octave works.

On the guitar

One voicing of the C minor chord on a six-string guitar fretboard.

Common mistakes

The third is E♭, not E. This is the single fact that makes the chord minor; replacing E♭ with E natural produces C major (a completely different harmonic colour). On piano, the chord is white-black-white (C, then the black key just left of E, then G) — a comfortable shape once memorised. On guitar, C minor is most often a barre chord (A-shape at the 3rd fret) since there's no fully-open voicing.

In context

C minor is the i chord in C minor, the vi chord in E♭ major (the relative-major position), the ii chord in B♭ major, and the iii in A♭ major. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 famously opens with the rhythmic motive "short-short-short-long" hammering the C minor triad; the entire first movement orbits around it. In film scoring, C minor is the go-to key for serious, weighty material.

Drill it

The C minor chord is one of 48 in the Chord Trainer. Open the full trainer to practice it alongside related chords with timing and best-time tracking.

Open the Chord Trainer →Or try today's Etudle puzzle

Frequently asked

What notes are in a C minor chord?: C minor contains three notes: C (the root), E♭ (the minor third), and G (the perfect fifth).
How do you play C minor on guitar?: Most commonly an A-shape barre at the 3rd fret: index finger across strings 5–1 on the 3rd fret, ring finger on the 5th fret of the 4th string, pinky on the 5th fret of the 3rd string, middle finger on the 4th fret of the 2nd string.
How is C minor different from C major?: Only the third changes. C major has E natural (a major third); C minor has E♭ (a minor third). The root and fifth are the same.
What pieces are famous in C minor?: Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, his "Pathétique" Sonata Op. 13, his Piano Concerto No. 3, and Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 491 are all in C minor. The key has a long association with serious, dramatic, often heroic material.