It’s not common to find songs that have the C minor chord. It’s used almost exclusively in jazz and blues, but it’s not a popular chord in other genres such as rock. The C minor chord is mostly played in its barre chord shape, but today we’ll show you all the possible ways in which you can play this chord!
On the C minor scale, we can find chords such as D diminished, Eb+, Fm, G, A, and B diminished, which mix very well with the C minor chord. In case you’d like to compose using this chord, we recommend you use the chords on that scale.
We’ll show you now several ways in which you can play the C minor chord, going from the easiest to the standard version of the chord. Without further ado, let’s explore the different ways in which you can play the C minor chord.
The Easy Version of C Minor
This version of the C minor chord is one of the easiest ways in which you can play it. It is an alternative to the barre chord version, which is more popular, but it’s still as useful and good sounding! This version of C minor is one part of the C minor triads. Follow the next image to learn how to play the easy version of the C minor chord:
C Minor Triad Chord Shapes
By learning to play the triads of any chord, we open a door of possibilities. Each of the different versions of C minor triads that we can find along the fretboard has a unique tone, even though they play the same notes. Let’s explore some of the C minor triad chords!
Standard C Minor Chord Shape
The standard C minor chord shape is essentially a barre chord, which could be tricky for many beginner players, but even they can learn how to play it with just a few hours of practice. We’ll use all our fingers to play this chord, and we’ll also try to avoid playing the 6th string (mute it if possible).
Barre chords can be tricky, but to play them, you must press with the side of your index finger a whole set of strings on a specific fret—in this case, the third one. Then you’ll continue to place the other fingers on the fret and string in which they go to play the standard Cm chord. Practice as much as you can to get the best sound out of it!
C Minor Barre Chord Shape
The barre chord we previously showed you is the standard version of the chord, but here we’ll show you another way in which you could play the C minor chord as a barre chord. Remember to practice these chord shapes as much as possible to gain the ability to play them without any problem.
Alternative C Minor Chord Shapes
Here we have for you some alternative ways in which you can play the Cm chord—in case you’d like to have more substitutes while you’re still learning how to play the Cm standard chord shape! Follow the next images to learn how to play the alternative Cm chord shapes:
