Chords in the Key of C Minor
Every diatonic triad and seventh chord in C minor, with the progressions built from them. Free. No sign-up.
Key facts
Diatonic triads
Seventh chords
Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.
Common progressions in C minor
i–VI–III–VII
Cm – Ab – Eb – Bb
The minor pop loop — same four chords as the major axis, started from the minor side.
i–iv–v
Cm – Fm – Gm
The minor blues shape — all three chords stay minor in the natural scale.
i–VII–VI
Cm – Bb – Ab
The descending rock lament, one whole step at a time.
i–iv–VII–III
Cm – Fm – Bb – Eb
A circle-of-fifths descent — each root falls a fifth to the next.
How the key of C minor works
C Minor carries three flats (Bb, Eb and Ab). The scale runs C–D–Eb–F–G–Ab–Bb, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.
Eb Major is the relative major: identical key signature, identical seven chords. Treat Eb — the III chord here — as home base and you are in Eb major without changing a note.
The parallel major, C Major, keeps the same root but raises the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to no sharps or flats. Moving a section from minor to parallel major is one of the oldest brightness tricks in songwriting.
Keep practicing
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