The C Minor Scale

The notes of C minor are C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb — formula 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. Key signature: three flats (Bb, Eb, Ab). Its relative major is Eb major, which uses the same notes from a different home. Below: the full neck, the chords in the key, and the pentatonic that lives inside it.

C minor on the fretboard

C minor scale — every note on the neck, frets 0–12 — root notes in green.

Jamistry's interactive 3D fretboard — the scale lit up across the whole neck

Practice C minor position by position — interactive fretboard →

Chords in the key of C minor

Harmonising the scale gives the seven chords songs in C minor are built from:

Degree	i	ii°	bIII	iv	v	bVI	bVII
Chord	Cm	Ddim	Eb	Fm	Gm	Ab	Bb

The core minor progression is i–iv–v (Cm, Fm, Gm); songs wanting a stronger pull home borrow a major V (G) from the harmonic minor.

The C minor pentatonic shortcut

For soloing in C minor, most players reach first for the minor pentatonic — the same scale minus the two most clash-prone notes. C minor pentatonic: C, Eb, F, G, Bb.

C minor pentatonic — position 1

Backing tracks in C minor

Scales stick when you use them. These free tracks are recorded in C minor — play them right here, or open them in JamLab to see the scale on a live fretboard while the chords change:

Slow Burn

Blues · 60 BPM · Key of Cm · C Minor Blues

Smouldering slow minor blues in C — take your time and let every note cry.

Jam this track with live chords →

More scales & theory

All guitar scales Minor pentatonic Major pentatonic Blues scale Major scale Minor scales The 7 modes CAGED system Fretboard notes The minor scales