Sevenths
C minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
Cm7 is the ii7 chord in B♭ major, iii7 in A♭ major and vi7 in E♭ major. In minor keys: i7 in C minor and iv7 in G minor.
- Notes
- CE♭GB♭
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play Cm7
About the C minor 7th chord
Cm7 is the ii7 of B♭ major — the start of a ii–V–I that jazz players meet constantly — and a smooth, soulful chord on its own.
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play Cm7 on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 3rd fret (x35343).
On piano, Cm7 has two black keys (E♭ and B♭) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual Cm7 shape is 3333, with the index finger barring all four strings at the 3rd fret.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form E♭ (E♭ G B♭) — so you can think of Cm7 as E♭ with C added underneath.
Cm7 contains exactly the same notes as E♭6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and Cm7 becomes a different chord: drop the B♭ for Cm, raise E♭ to E for C7, lower B♭ to A for Cm6 and swap E♭ for F for C7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find Cm7 in common progressions such as Cm7–F7–B♭maj7 (the jazz cadence in B♭ major).
