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The C minor chord (Cm) on guitar, from three strings to barre

C minor has no friendly open shape like Am or Em, so most chord charts jump straight to a barre at the third fret. You do not have to. There is a small three string Cm near the nut, and the full barre is simply the B minor shape moved up one fret. Build it in layers, and every layer is already a real C minor you can use in a song.

Cm chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: C minor
  • Symbol: Cm
  • Notes: C, Eb, G
  • Where it belongs: vi in Eb major, iii in Ab major, ii in Bb major, i in C minor, iv in G minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Cm, three strings x310xx C Eb G The quickest C minor there is: three notes, one open string, no barre. Best for picking or a light strum.
Cm, small triad xx554x G C Eb The same triad up the neck, ready to slide. G sits in the bass, so it sounds lighter than the full chord.
Cm, four strings xx5543 G C Eb G The easy Cm for strumming: complete, no barre, top four strings only.
Cm, with the C bass x3554x C G C Eb Adds C on the fifth string so the chord stands on its root. The first finger is already where the barre goes.
Cm, barre x35543 C G C Eb G The standard C minor: the B minor barre moved up one fret, five strings, root in the bass.
Cm, three strings x 3 1 0 x x · 3 1 · · · fingers
Cm, small triad x x 5 5 4 x · · 2 3 1 · fingers
Cm, four strings x x 5 5 4 3 · · 3 4 2 1 fingers
Cm, with the C bass x 3 5 5 4 x · 1 3 4 2 · fingers
Cm, barre x 3 5 5 4 3 · 1 3 4 2 1 fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Cm on the neck: every C, Eb, G

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Cm: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Cm.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
2 - B
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
3 - G
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
4 - D
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
5 - A
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
6 - E
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
E

How to play Cm, one layer at a time

1. Three strings near the nut: x310xx

Third finger on the A string at fret 3 (C), first finger on the D string at fret 1 (Eb), G string open (G). Pick or strum those three strings only. The low E and the top two strings stay out: on this shape they are not part of the chord.

2. The small triad: xx554x

Second and third fingers on the D and G strings at fret 5, first finger on the B string at fret 4. Same three notes, now in a shape that can move: slide it down one fret and it becomes Bm.

3. Four strings: xx5543

Regroup the fingers the way the barre will want them: first finger on the high E at fret 3, second on the B string at fret 4, third on the D string and fourth on the G string, both at fret 5. Strum the top four strings. This is the shape to stay on while the barre is still coming.

4. Add the root, then the barre: x3554x, x35543

Put the first finger on the A string at fret 3: that C in the bass makes the chord sound anchored. Then lay the same finger flat from the fifth string to the first. It only has to press two notes, C on the fifth string and G on the first; the fingers in between cover the rest.

If your B minor is clean, your C minor is too: it is the same shape one fret higher, and the frets are a little narrower there. Both come from Am (x02210) with the first finger playing the nut, as the barre chords page explains.

C to Cm: one note changes the mood

C major is C, E and G. C minor is C, Eb and G. Two notes stay, and only the third drops a half step, from E to Eb. That single note is why the chord turns from bright to dark. Play x32010, the open C chord, then x35543, and listen for the moment the color flips. Do it until you hear the difference without thinking: in a chord chart, C and Cm are one letter apart and easy to misread.

Common Cm mistakes, and the fix

What you hear Likely cause The fix
A note that does not belong on x310xx The strum hits all six strings Aim for the A, D and G strings only. Pick them one at a time first.
The high E dies on the barre The first finger sits too far from the fret Slide it up behind the fret wire and roll it slightly onto its bony edge.
A buzz on the fifth string The root is under pressed, not the whole barre Only the fifth and first strings depend on the first finger. Press those two, relax the middle.
The chord sounds major You played C instead of Cm Check the chart again: Cm needs Eb, so the B string at fret 4.

Getting in and out of Cm

Change Shapes What to watch
C to Cm x32010 to x35543 The major to minor switch. Listen for the third.
G, B, C, Cm 320003, x24442, x32010, x35543 The minor IV after the major IV: C to Cm is where the sadness comes in.
Gm to Cm 355333 to x35543 Same fret, two barres. Move the bass from the sixth string to the fifth and stop strumming the low E.

Where Cm shows up

In the key of G minor, Cm is the iv chord, and G minor songs lean on the move from Gm to Cm and back. In a major key, Cm often arrives as a borrowed chord: in the key of G, C is the IV, and turning it into Cm for a bar gives the bittersweet drop you hear in a lot of rock ballads.

To hear it in context: Radiohead's Creep cycles through G, B, C and Cm; Bob Marley's I Shot the Sheriff moves between Gm and Cm; The Police's Roxanne uses Cm alongside Gm, Dm, Eb, Bb and F. The chord progressions page shows how these moves are built.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play a Cm chord on guitar?
The standard version is a barre at the third fret: x35543. Lay the first finger across the fifth string to the first at fret 3, put the second finger on the B string at fret 4, and the third and fourth fingers on the D and G strings at fret 5. Leave the low E silent. Without a barre, play xx5543 on the top four strings, or x310xx on three.
What is the easiest way to play C minor?
x310xx: third finger on the A string at fret 3, first finger on the D string at fret 1, G string open. Play only those three strings. It holds C, Eb and G, so it is a complete C minor, just a small one. For a fuller strum, xx5543 adds a fourth string and still needs no barre.
What notes are in a C minor chord?
Three: C, Eb and G. C is the root, Eb the minor third, G the fifth. C major has the same C and G with E natural instead: lowering that one note by a half step is the whole difference between C and Cm.
Is Cm the same shape as Bm?
Yes, one fret higher. Bm barre is x24432; move every finger up one fret and you get x35543, which is Cm. The same goes for the easy shapes: xx4432 becomes xx5543. Learn one, and you have both.
Can I play C5 instead of Cm?
Only where the song does not need the minor sound. x355xx plays C, G and C: there is no Eb, so the chord is neither minor nor major. Under distortion it works; on an acoustic, where Cm carries the mood of the song, it leaves the mood out.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.