Cm is the C minor chord, made of the notes C Eb G. Most guitarists play it as X 3 5 5 4 3, a barre chord at fret 3. Below are all 5 ways to hold Cm on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.
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Cm
X 3 5 5 4 3
Notes
Degrees: R b3 5. Notes: C Eb G.
RC
b3Eb
5G
Tuning
Inversions
Voicings
How to play Cm
The shape most players use is X 3 5 5 4 3, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:
Lay your index finger flat across the five strings from the A to the high E string at fret 3.
Put your ring finger on the D string at fret 5.
Put your little finger on the G string at fret 5.
Put your middle finger on the B string at fret 4.
Do not play the low E string.
Cm
X 3 5 5 4 3
5 ways to play Cm
Every shape the chord library holds for Cm in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one C is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.
Of Cm's own shapes, 8 6 5 5 X X needs the fewest fingers: three, where the first needs four. It is a barre at fret 5.
Cm(add9), held as X 3 1 0 3 X, often stands in for Cm. It needs no barre and three fingers. It is a different chord: it adds D to C, Eb and G, so it sounds close to Cm but not the same.
A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put Cm and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.
C, Eb and G. As degrees they are R b3 5: the root, the minor third and the fifth.
Yes. In the shape most players use, X 3 5 5 4 3, your index finger lies across the five strings from the A to the high E string at fret 3. Without a barre you can hold it as X 3 1 0 4 3, an open shape.
Cm(add9), held as X 3 1 0 3 X, often stands in for Cm. It is a different chord: it adds D to C, Eb and G, and it needs no barre.
Cm is vi in Eb major, iii in Ab major and ii in Bb major, and it belongs to 3 more keys, listed above.
In Drop D you hold Cm as in Standard: X 3 5 5 4 3.