Cm7 chord on guitar

Cm7 is C, E♭, G and B♭. The usual shape is x-3-5-3-4-3, a barre at the 3rd fret. Hit Play and watch each string light as it sounds.

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

How to play Cm7 on guitar

Shape 1, x-3-5-3-4-3, reading from the low E string on the left, starts at the 3rd fret:

Barre the 3rd fret with your index finger, covering the 5 strings from the A string to the high E string.
Put your middle finger on the B string at the 4th fret, which is E♭.
Put your ring finger on the D string at the 5th fret, which is G.
Skip the low E string and begin the strum from the A string.

Check the barre one string at a time. A dead string under the index finger usually means the finger has drifted away from the fret wire.

Other ways to play Cm7

x-3-1-3-1-x: movable shape, medium. Only the thinner strings sound, which cuts through a band without getting muddy.
8-10-8-8-8-8: barre shape at the 8th fret, medium. Root on the 6th string: move it up or down and it names a different minor seventh chord.
x-15-13-15-13-15: partial barre shape at the 13th fret, medium. A high voicing for when the low version is taken by another instrument.

Capo shortcuts for Cm7

A capo turns an open chord into Cm7: capo on the 1st fret and play the open Bm7 shape (x-2-0-2-0-2) or capo on the 3rd fret and play the open Am7 shape (x-0-2-0-1-0). Handy when the rest of the song's chords also have open shapes in that position.

Moving between Cm7 and its neighbours

The chords Cm7 usually goes to, and what changes under your fingers.

F7 (V in B♭ major): 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. F7 on guitar
E♭maj7 (IV in B♭ major): 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. E♭maj7 on guitar
B♭maj7 (I in B♭ major): 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♭. B♭maj7 on guitar

Cm7 is a minor seventh chord: a minor triad plus a minor seventh. Cm7 is the easy-going minor, common as the ii chord right before a dominant seventh. Play it once strummed and once picked to hear the difference.

A short Cm7 drill

Pick shape 1 one string at a time, low to high: C, G, B♭, E♭, G. Every note should ring clearly; if one thuds, adjust that finger before you strum. Then switch to x-3-1-3-1-x and back four times without looking at your hand.

Keys and progressions with Cm7

In B♭ major, ii–V–I on guitar is Cm7 (x-3-5-3-4-3), F7 (1-3-1-2-1-1) and B♭maj7 (x-1-3-2-3-1). About the jazz cadence.

Cm7 on piano and ukulele

Switching instruments? Try Cm7 on ukulele or Cm7 on piano, or compare them on the Cm7 chord page.

Related C chords on guitar

Other minor seventh chords

Cm7 on guitar: questions

What notes are in Cm7 on guitar?

C, E♭, G and B♭. In the x-3-5-3-4-3 shape the strings play C (A string), G (D string), B♭ (G string), E♭ (B string) and G (high E string), so G is doubled.

What's the easiest way to play Cm7 on guitar?

Cm7 has no open-string shape in standard tuning, so every version needs a barre or a stretch. Start with x-3-1-3-1-x. It uses 4 fingers and no barre, and in many songs a capo can take over part of the work.

Is Cm7 a barre chord on guitar?

In its standard form, yes. x-3-5-3-4-3 has your index finger across the 3rd fret. If that's hard, try x-3-1-3-1-x.

Which string does Cm7 start on?

In the x-3-5-3-4-3 shape the lowest string you play is the A string at the 3rd fret, which is C, the root. Skip the low E string.

Every shape above plays only C, E♭, G and B♭, checked by the site's tests. Updated September 2026.