Cm7 guitar chord: 4 ways to play C minor 7th

Ways to play Cm7

Lowest on the neck first. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.

What's in Cm7

A minor 7th is a minor triad with a flat 7th on top: Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭. On guitar it is often easier than the plain minor chord, because the 7th can come from an open string or frees up a finger.

Note	Formula	Interval from C
C	1	Root
E♭	♭3	Minor 3rd
G	5	Perfect 5th
B♭	♭7	Minor 7th

Mellower than a straight minor chord. It is the ii in the ii–V–I that jazz is built on, and the default minor chord in funk and R&B.

Keys that use Cm7

Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of C, E♭, G and B♭, and the chord's Roman numeral in each.

Key	Cm7 is the
C minor	i7
G minor	iv7
F minor	v7
B♭ major	ii7
E♭ major	vi7
A♭ major	iii7

Progressions to try

ii7–V7–Imaj7 in B♭ major

A minor 7th's most common job: the ii chord that sets up the V.

i7–iv7 in C minor

A two-chord minor vamp that funk and soul can sit on for a whole song.

Other chords on C:

See every chord in the library

Cm7 chord