C Minor Scale

72 scales in every key on a map of the whole neck: positions, patterns, and every note played as it lights up.

The C minor scale has 7 notes: C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭. The natural minor scale (Aeolian mode) is the sad, serious sound of the minor key. It is the major scale started on its sixth note, so every minor key shares its notes with a major key three frets higher.

Compared with the C major scale it has ♭3 (E♭ instead of E), ♭6 (A♭ instead of A), ♭7 (B♭ instead of B). It has exactly the same notes as E♭ major, started from a different root.

The explorer above is set to C minor: the whole neck is mapped, and you can zoom into any of its 7 positions, change the labels to degrees or fingers, and hear it up, down and in patterns.

C minor scale notes

Degree	Note	Interval from C	Frets above the root	Sargam
1	C	R	0	S
2	D	M2	2	R
♭3	E♭	m3	3	g
4	F	P4	5	M
5	G	P5	7	P
♭6	A♭	m6	8	d
♭7	B♭	m7	10	n

Steps between the notes: W H W W H W W (W = two frets, H = one fret). Start on any C and follow those steps up one string to play the scale.

C minor scale positions on the guitar

With three notes on every string, C minor has seven patterns that climb the neck. Position 1 starts on C on the low E string at fret 8; each next position starts on the next note of the scale. In standard tuning, high string first:

Position	E (1st)	B	G	D	A	E (6th)
Position 1 frets 8–13	10 11 13	9 11 13	8 10 12	8 10 12	8 10 11	8 10 11
Position 2 frets 10–15	11 13 15	11 13 15	10 12 13	10 12 13	10 11 13	10 11 13
Position 3 frets 11–16	13 15 16	13 15 16	12 13 15	12 13 15	11 13 15	11 13 15
Position 4 frets 13–18	15 16 18	15 16 18	13 15 17	13 15 17	13 15 17	13 15 16
Position 5 frets 15–20	16 18 20	16 18 20	15 17 19	15 17 18	15 17 18	15 16 18
Position 6 frets 16–22	18 20 22	18 20 21	17 19 20	17 18 20	17 18 20	16 18 20
Position 7 frets 6–11	8 10 11	8 9 11	7 8 10	6 8 10	6 8 10	6 8 10

Chords in the C minor scale

Stacking every other note of the scale on each degree gives these chords. They are the chords a song in C minor is made from, and the chords this scale fits over.

	i	ii°	♭III	iv	v	♭VI	♭VII
Triad	Cm	Ddim	E♭	Fm	Gm	A♭	B♭
7th chord	Cm7	Dm7♭5	E♭maj7	Fm7	Gm7	A♭maj7	B♭7

Where you hear it

C minor is used in rock and metal riffs, ballads, film scores and many Bollywood melodies. It sounds best over minor and minor 7th chords on the root, and progressions like i – ♭VI – ♭III – ♭VII.

Backing tracks to practise C minor

C minor blues C minor rock C minor funk Cm Bollywood

How to practise it

Play position 1 (frets 8–13) slowly, up and down, saying the note names.
Play it with the pattern set to In 3s, then In 4s, at a tempo where every note is clean.
Learn position 2 and how it joins position 1: the notes they share are where your hand moves.
Switch the labels to degrees and find every C (1) in each position.
Improvise over a backing track, ending your phrases on C.