C Minor: Notes, Chords and Scale

C minor is a minor key. Its key signature has 3 flats: B♭, E♭, A♭. Its scale is C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, and its seven diatonic chords are Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭. Below are the 7th chords, Roman numerals, related keys, the Camelot code and a keyboard diagram.

Key signature

3♭

Relative key

E♭ major

Parallel key

C major

Camelot code

Notes

C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭

The C minor scale on a keyboard, root highlighted.

Chords in C minor

iCmC E♭ G
ii°DdimD F A♭
IIIE♭E♭ G B♭
ivFmF A♭ C
vGmG B♭ D
VIA♭A♭ C E♭
VIIB♭B♭ D F

Seventh chords

i7Cm7C E♭ G B♭
iiø7Dm7♭5D F A♭ C
IIImaj7E♭maj7E♭ G B♭ D
iv7Fm7F A♭ C E♭
v7Gm7G B♭ D F
VImaj7A♭maj7A♭ C E♭ G
VII7B♭7B♭ D F A♭

How to use these chords

i, iv and v (Cm, Fm, Gm) are the primary chords. The v chord is often played major, as V (G) or V7 (G7), taken from the harmonic minor scale, which raises B♭ to B.
III, VI and VII (E♭, A♭, B♭) are major chords. They are the I, IV and V chords of the relative major, E♭ major.
ii° (Ddim) is a diminished chord and often leads to V.
Common progressions, in Roman numerals: i VI III VII (Cm, A♭, E♭, B♭); i iv V (Cm, Fm, G); i VII VI V (Cm, B♭, A♭, G).

Common uses of C minor

C minor shares its seven notes and its key signature with its relative major, E♭ major.
On a piano, 3 of its seven notes are black keys.
It reads easily for horn sections: B♭ instruments such as trumpet, clarinet and tenor saxophone read it as D minor, and E♭ alto saxophone reads it as A minor.
In the Camelot system DJs use for harmonic mixing, C minor is 5A; tracks in 4A, 6A and 5B usually mix smoothly with it.

Open C minor in the Scale and Chord Finder
Find your song's key from the audio: Detect Key and BPM
Camelot Wheel: 5A
Write chords or MIDI in C minor with MIDI LabMIDI Lab, from the same team as SongTools, writes chord progressions, bass, drums and melody as MIDI from a prompt.
E♭ major: notes and chords
All 24 major and minor keys

Questions about C minor

What chords are in C minor?

The seven chords in C minor are Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭, B♭ (i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI, VII). As seventh chords they are Cm7, Dm7♭5, E♭maj7, Fm7, Gm7, A♭maj7, B♭7.

What notes are in the C minor scale?

C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭. Its key signature has 3 flats: B♭, E♭, A♭.

What is the relative major of C minor?

E♭ major. It uses the same seven notes and key signature as C minor, starting from E♭. The parallel major, C major, starts on the same note as C minor but has a different key signature.

What is the Camelot code for C minor?

5A. Next to it on the Camelot wheel are 4A and 6A, and 5B is its relative major, E♭ major.