Cm7 chord
Cm7 is C, E♭, G and B♭: 1–♭3–5–♭7 built on C. Here it is on guitar, piano and ukulele. Tap Play on any of them.
On guitar
x-3-5-3-4-3 · barre · medium
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- x-3-5-3-4-3
Cm7 on guitar: every shape, finger by finger
On piano
root position · C–E♭–G–B♭ · right hand 1-2-3-5
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
Cm7 on piano: fingering and inversions
On ukulele
3-3-3-3 · movable · medium
- Notes
- C · E♭ · G · B♭
- Formula
- 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7
- First shape
- 3-3-3-3
Where Cm7 usually goes next
Here's what the hand does on the most common changes, on guitar and on piano.
- Cm7 → F7 (V in B♭ major)
Guitar: Cm7 (x-3-5-3-4-3) to F7 (1-3-1-2-1-1): the index finger lays across the low E to high E strings at the 1st fret, your middle finger lands on the G string, 2nd fret, the ring finger goes to the A string, 3rd fret. Nothing carries over, so drill it slowly, lifting and landing all fingers at once. The two chords share C and E♭, which is why the change sounds smooth.
Piano: Cm7 to F7: play F7 in 2nd inversion (C–E♭–F–A) and C and E♭ stay under the same fingers, while G moves down to F and B♭ down to A. F7 - Cm7 → E♭maj7 (IV in B♭ major)
Guitar: Cm7 (x-3-5-3-4-3) to E♭maj7 (x-x-1-3-3-3): move the index finger to the D string, 1st fret, move the middle finger to the G string, 3rd fret, the ring finger goes to the B string, 3rd fret, the pinky finger comes down on the high E string, 3rd fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. E♭, G and B♭ carry over from one chord to the other.
Piano: Cm7 to E♭maj7: play E♭maj7 in 3rd inversion (D–E♭–G–B♭) and E♭, G and B♭ stay under the same fingers, while C moves up to D. E♭maj7 - Cm7 → B♭maj7 (I in B♭ major)
Guitar: Cm7 (x-3-5-3-4-3) to B♭maj7 (x-1-3-2-3-1): the index finger lays across the A to high E strings at the 1st fret, your middle finger lands on the G string, 2nd fret, the ring finger goes to the D string, 3rd fret, the pinky finger comes down on the B string, 3rd fret. No finger can stay, so practice lifting all of them together and landing the new shape as a unit. Shared note: B♭.
Piano: Cm7 to B♭maj7: play B♭maj7 in 1st inversion (D–F–A–B♭) and B♭ stays under the same finger, while C moves up to D, E♭ up to F and G up to A. B♭maj7
Guitar with a capo: capo 1, Bm7 shape; capo 3, Am7 shape. Ukulele with a capo: capo 1, Bm7 shape; capo 3, Am7 shape.
How Cm7 is built
Cm7 is a minor seventh chord: a minor triad plus a minor seventh. It is mellow rather than sad, and slides easily into other chords, which is why funk, R&B and jazz lean on it.
Count keys (black and white) from C: 3 half steps up to E♭, 4 half steps up to G then 3 half steps up to B♭.
| Note | Role | Half steps | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | root | 0 | |
| E♭ | minor third | 3 | |
| G | perfect fifth | 7 | |
| B♭ | minor seventh | 10 |
Keys and progressions with Cm7
In major keys, Cm7 is ii7 in B♭ major, iii7 in A♭ major and vi7 in E♭ major. In minor keys it is i7 in C minor, iv7 in G minor and v7 in F minor.
ii–V–I in B♭ major runs Cm7 – F7 – B♭maj7. the jazz cadence
Chords close to Cm7
- Cm7 is Cm plus B♭. Cm
Chords that share most of their notes with Cm7: E♭6, Cm, E♭, C7, Cm6, Cm7♭5.
Every C chord
Cm7 chord: questions
What notes are in the Cm7 chord?
C, E♭, G and B♭. Cm7 is built 1–♭3–5–♭7 from C: E♭ is the minor third, G is the perfect fifth and B♭ is the minor seventh.
How do you play Cm7 on guitar?
The usual shape is x-3-5-3-4-3 (barre). All 4 guitar shapes.
How do you play Cm7 on piano?
Play C, E♭, G and B♭ with right-hand fingers 1-2-3-5. C sits just left of the pair of black keys. Inversions and left hand.
How do you play Cm7 on ukulele?
3-3-3-3 in standard GCEA tuning. More ukulele shapes.
What key is Cm7 in?
In major keys, Cm7 is ii7 in B♭ major, iii7 in A♭ major and vi7 in E♭ major. In minor keys it is i7 in C minor, iv7 in G minor and v7 in F minor.
What's the difference between Cm7 and Cm?
Cm7 is Cm plus B♭.
Diagrams and sound come from the same data, tested so they match. Updated September 2026.