Chord chart

Cm Chord on Guitar: 3 Easy Ways to Play C Minor (Charts)

Cm chord charts with finger numbers, an easier version, the notes and intervals, and the keys and progressions that use it. Also searched as cm chord, cm guitar chord and how to play Cm.

By David Sandy, guitar player and founder of Sandy Music Lab. Every chord shape on this page is checked note by note against the chord's formula.

Cm chord diagram, Open positionCm Open position: low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 1, G open, B fret 1, high e fret 3.×3124x 3 1 0 1 3
Open position
x 3 1 0 1 3
Cm chord diagram, Barre (3rd fret, A-string root)Cm Barre (3rd fret, A-string root): low E muted, A fret 3, D fret 5, G fret 5, B fret 4, high e fret 3.×1342x 3 5 5 4 3
Barre (3rd fret, A-string root)
x 3 5 5 4 3
Cm chord diagram, Easy 3-string versionCm Easy 3-string version: low E muted, A muted, D muted, G fret 5, B fret 4, high e fret 3.×××321x x x 5 4 3
Easy 3-string version
x x x 5 4 3

Numbers are fingers (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky, T thumb). × = don't play that string, ○ = play it open. A long bar is a barre: one finger flat across those strings. Strings run low E (left) to high e (right).

Chord chart by Sandy Music Lab

Quick answer: To play Cm (C minor) on guitar, play x 3 1 0 1 3 from the low E string to the high e string (the open position shape). The chord contains C, Eb, G. If that is hard, use the easier shape x x x 5 4 3, which needs 3 fretted notes.

Cm chord facts

Chord Cm (C minor)
Other names Cmin, C-
Notes C, Eb, G
Intervals C (root), Eb (minor 3rd), G (perfect 5th)
Formula 1-b3-5
Difficulty Beginner (easy version) to intermediate (full shape)
Shapes on this page 3

How do you play Cm on guitar?

The main shape is x 3 1 0 1 3 (Open position). Finger by finger:

  1. Put your index finger (1) on the D string at fret 1 (Eb, the minor 3rd).
  2. Put your middle finger (2) on the B string at fret 1 (C, the root).
  4. Put your ring finger (3) on the A string at fret 3 (C, the root).
  5. Put your pinky (4) on the high e string at fret 3 (G, the perfect 5th).