Key reference
The key of C minor
3 flats · C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭
C minor has 3 flats: B♭, E♭, A♭. A piece in this key draws on C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭ and treats C as home.
The seven chords below are the ones built from those notes alone, which is why they sound like they belong together.
The key signature
Order of flats
- B♭
- E♭
- A♭
- D♭
- G♭
- C♭
- F♭
This signature uses the first 3 of them: B♭, E♭, A♭.
The notes of the key
These are the notes of the natural minor scale on this tonic. Pieces in a minor key routinely raise the seventh, and sometimes the sixth, without changing the signature. See the C minor scale for the degrees and step pattern.
C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭
The seven diatonic chords
Build a triad on each degree using only notes from the key and the qualities fall into a fixed pattern. That pattern is the same in every minor key, which is why progressions transpose so cleanly.
| Degree | Roman | Chord | Notes | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | i | Cm | C – E♭ – G | Tonic |
| 2 | ii° | Ddim | D – F – A♭ | Predominant |
| 3 | III | E♭ | E♭ – G – B♭ | Tonic |
| 4 | iv | Fm | F – A♭ – C | Predominant |
| 5 | v | Gm | G – B♭ – D | Dominant |
| 6 | VI | A♭ | A♭ – C – E♭ | Tonic |
| 7 | VII | B♭ | B♭ – D – F | Subtonic |
Adding sevenths
Stack one more third on each and you get the seventh chords of the key.
| Roman | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| i | Cm7 | C – E♭ – G – B♭ |
| ii° | Dm7♭5 | D – F – A♭ – C |
| III | E♭maj7 | E♭ – G – B♭ – D |
| iv | Fm7 | F – A♭ – C – E♭ |
| v | Gm7 | G – B♭ – D – F |
| VI | A♭maj7 | A♭ – C – E♭ – G |
| VII7 | B♭7 | B♭ – D – F – A♭ |
Common progressions in C minor
These are the same shapes you meet in every minor key, written with this key’s chords.
One caveat: the chords below are the strictly diatonic ones. In practice the chord on the fifth degree is usually raised to major (borrowing the leading tone from harmonic minor), because the natural minor’s minor v has no leading tone and so does not pull back to the tonic.
i – VI – III – VII
- CmiTonic
- A♭VITonic
- E♭IIITonic
- B♭VIISubtonic
i – iv – v – i
- CmiTonic
- FmivPredominant
- GmvDominant
- CmiTonic
i – VII – VI – V
- CmiTonic
- B♭VIISubtonic
- A♭VITonic
- GmvDominant
Related keys
| Relationship | Key | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| Relative major | E♭ major | Same signature |
| Parallel major | C major | 0 sharps |
| One step sharpwards | G minor | One more sharp |
| One step flatwards | F minor | One more flat |