Piano chord · Minor triad
C minor piano chord (Cm)
C, E♭ and G, played together. Root position is highlighted on the keyboard below — press play to hear it.
Notes in Cm: C, E♭ and G
| Note | Interval from the root | Key around middle C |
|---|---|---|
| C | Root | C4 · white key |
| E♭ | Minor 3rd | D♯4 · black key |
| G | Perfect 5th | G4 · white key |
- Chord symbol: Cm — C minor
- Formula: R · b3 · 5 (0 · 3 · 7 semitones from the root)
- Right hand fingering: 1-3-5 — thumb, middle finger and little finger
- Left hand fingering: 5-3-1, little finger on the root
How Cm works
C minor is C major with the middle note lowered a half step to E♭, and playing the two back to back is the fastest way to hear what 'minor' actually means. It is the tonic of the key with three flats and the colour of a great deal of dramatic piano writing.
Cm inversions
An inversion keeps the same notes and changes which one is at the bottom. That matters because it lets you move between chords without jumping: the closer the notes of the next chord are to the ones your hand is already holding, the smoother it sounds and the easier it is to play. Root position first, then two inversions.
Root position
C–E♭–G — the root, C, is at the bottom.
1st inversion — E♭ in the bass
E♭–G–C — the same three notes, reordered so E♭ is lowest.
2nd inversion — G in the bass
G–C–E♭ — the same three notes, reordered so G is lowest.
Common mistakes on Cm
- Lowering the wrong note — the fifth stays on G, only the third moves.
- Reaching E♭ with a flat finger so E♭ and D sound together.
- Letting the hand drift forward until the thumb catches C♯ as well as C.
Piano chord data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.