C minor scale

The C minor scale is C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭ and B♭, with three flats. From C, the steps go whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.

  1. C1
  2. whole
  3. D2
  4. half
  5. E♭3
  6. whole
  7. F4
  8. whole
  9. G5
  10. half
  11. A♭6
  12. whole
  13. B♭7
  14. whole
  15. C8
C1D2F1G2C5E♭3A♭3B♭4

C minor on the staff, piano and guitar

On the staff

♭♭♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭C♭♭♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭C

On piano

Right hand 1 2 3, then the thumb passes under to F: 1 2 3 4 5.

C5D4F2G1C1E♭3A♭3B♭2

Left hand 5 4 3 2 1, then finger 3 crosses over to A♭: 3 2 1.

Fingers are numbered from the thumb, 1, to the little finger, 5. Coming down, play the same fingers in reverse.

On guitar

7891011EBGDAECDE♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭FGA♭B♭CDE♭

Every note of C minor between the 7th and 11th fret. The root, C, has a heavy ring.

How to play the C minor scale on piano

  1. Find C, the white key just left of a group of two black keys.
  2. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to D.
  3. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to E♭, a black key.
  4. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to F.
  5. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to G.
  6. Go up a half step, to the very next key, to A♭, a black key.
  7. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to B♭, a black key.
  8. Go up a whole step, skipping one key, to C, an octave above where you started.

Practice the C minor scale

Play the C minor scale one note a beat, up and back down: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C B♭ A♭ G F E♭ D C. Hands separately first. Start at 60 beats a minute and move up toward 100 once every note lands on the beat.

C
  1. C
  2. D
  3. E♭
  4. F
  5. G
  6. A♭
  7. B♭
  8. C
  9. B♭
  10. A♭
  11. G
  12. F
  13. E♭
  14. D
  15. C

The key of C minor

Follow the minor pattern from C and three notes need a flat: E♭, A♭ and B♭. Those three flats are the key signature, the same as E♭ major, its relative major.

Relative major
E♭ major
Parallel major
C major
Neighbors on the circle of fifths
F minor and G minor
♭♭♭CAmGEmDBmAF♯mEC♯mBC♭G♯mA♭mF♯G♭D♯mE♭mD♭C♯B♭mA♯mA♭VIFmivE♭IIICmiB♭VIIGmvFDmC minor
C minor on the circle of fifths, with the chords of its key marked.

The name of each note in the key

  1. 1Ctonic
  2. 2Dsupertonic
  3. 3E♭mediant
  4. 4Fsubdominant
  5. 5Gdominant
  6. 6A♭submediant
  7. 7B♭subtonic

Chords in C minor

Build a chord on each note of the scale, using only the scale's notes, and you get the seven chords of the key. The numeral is the chord's place in the key: capitals for major, small letters for minor.

  1. iCm
  2. ii°Ddim
  3. IIIE♭
  4. ivFm
  5. vGm
  6. VIA♭
  7. VIIB♭

C harmonic and melodic minor

Harmonic minor

C harmonic minor raises the 7th note a half step, B♭ to B♮, so the scale leads back to C.

♭♭♭CDE♭FGA♭♮BC

Melodic minor

C melodic minor raises the 6th and 7th notes going up, A♭ to A♮ and B♭ to B♮, and comes back down as the natural minor.

♭♭♭CDE♭FG♮A♮BC♭B♭♭A♭GFE♭DC

Modes on the same notes

Start the E♭ major scale on another of its notes and you get a mode, with the same key signature: E♭ ionian, F dorian, G phrygian, A♭ lydian, B♭ mixolydian, C aeolian, D locrian.

Practice notes for the C minor scale

C minor has three flats, E♭, A♭ and B♭: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ C. It is the relative minor of E♭ major and starts on the same white key as C major, which makes the two easy to compare: three notes change, the 3rd, 6th and 7th.

Where it goes wrong. Playing C major notes by habit. C is so familiar as a major scale that E or A slips back in. Fingering helps here: in the right hand E♭ and A♭ both fall to finger 3, and B♭ to finger 4, so in the upper half fingers 3 and 4 both sit on black keys.

How to practice it. Play C major and C minor back to back, slowly, and watch which fingers move to black keys. Then the forms. Harmonic minor raises B♭ to B natural. Melodic minor, going up, raises A♭ and B♭ to A and B, so the upper half is the same as C major, and comes back down with the flats.

What to listen for. E♭, the 3rd. It is the note that makes the scale minor, and on the way up it comes early, third note in. In harmonic minor, listen for the wide step from A♭ to B natural.

What to learn next. G minor, which has two flats, and E♭ major, the relative major with the same three flats.

Questions

What are the notes of the C minor scale?

C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭ and B♭, then C again an octave up.

What chords are in the key of C minor?

Cm, Ddim, E♭, Fm, Gm, A♭ and B♭: i, ii°, III, iv, v, VI and VII.

Why does C minor have three flats?

Follow the minor pattern from C and three notes need a flat: E♭, A♭ and B♭. Those three flats are the key signature, the same as E♭ major, its relative major.

What is the relative major of C minor?

E♭ major. It uses the same notes and the same key signature, starting on E♭.

What is the C harmonic minor scale?

C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭ and B. C harmonic minor raises the 7th note a half step, B♭ to B♮, so the scale leads back to C.