How to Play Cm on Piano

The C Minor chord sounds dark and inward. It stacks 3 notes: C – Eb – G.

Flattening the third by a semitone is the whole difference between major and minor. Everything else is identical.

Notes in Cm

NoteIntervalFinger
CC4Root1
EbEb4Minor 3rd3
GG4Perfect 5th5

How to Play

Right Hand

Place your thumb (finger 1) on C. Use finger 3 on Eb and finger 5 on G.

Where it sits

One note of this chord (Eb) is on black keys, so play it a little further back on the keys than an all-white shape.

Press all 3 keys at the same time. Keep your wrist relaxed and your fingers curved. The blue dots on the piano below show exactly which keys to press — they turn green when you play the right note.

Other Minor Chords

C#m
C# – E – G#
Dm
D – F – A
Ebm
Eb – Gb – Bb
Em
E – G – B
Fm
F – Ab – C
F#m
F# – A – C#
Gm
G – Bb – D
G#m
G# – B – D#
Am
A – C – E
Bbm
Bb – Db – F
Bm
B – D – F#

Other C Chords

C6
C – E – G – A
C7
C – E – G – Bb
C9
C – E – G – Bb – D
C
C – E – G
Cmaj7
C – E – G – B
Cm7
C – Eb – G – Bb
Cdim
C – Eb – Gb
Caug
C – E – G#
Csus2
C – D – G
Csus4
C – F – G
Cdim7
C – Eb – Gb – Bbb
Cm6
C – Eb – G – A
Cadd9
C – E – G – D