# C Minor 7th piano chord (Cm7)

Cm7 contains C, E♭, G and B♭. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. E♭ and B♭ are black keys; C and G are white.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/c/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:c
- Notes: C E♭ G B♭
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 3
- Also written: Cm7, Cm7, C minor 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | C | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | E♭ | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | G | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| ♭7 | B♭ | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on C, finger 2 on E♭, finger 3 on G, finger 5 on B♭. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | C | C3 E♭3 G3 B♭3 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (Cm7/E♭) | E♭ | E♭3 G3 B♭3 C4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Cm7/G) | G | G3 B♭3 C4 E♭4 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Cm7/B♭) | B♭ | B♭3 C4 E♭4 G4 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | C3 E♭3 G3 B♭3 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | E♭3 G3 B♭3 C4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | G3 B♭3 C4 E♭4 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | B♭3 C4 E♭4 G4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | G2 C3 E♭3 B♭3 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | E♭2 C3 G3 B♭3 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | C2 G2 E♭3 B♭3 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | C2 B♭2 E♭3 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits G |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | E♭3 B♭3 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C and G |
| Rootless close | E♭3 G3 B♭3 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits C |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C minor | im7 | Tonic, home |
| E♭ major | vim7 | Tonic substitute |
| F minor | vm7 | Minor dominant |
| G minor | ivm7 | Subdominant |
| A♭ major | iiim7 | Tonic substitute |
| B♭ major | iim7 | Predominant |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (9)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ii, v, i | C minor | im7 | Dm7♭5 to Gm7 to Cm7 | 2 tones held from Gm7 |
| iv, i | C minor | im7 | Fm7 to Cm7 | 2 tones held from Fm7 |
| i, ♭VI, ii, v | C minor | im7 | Cm7 to A♭maj7 to Dm7♭5 to Gm7 | Cm7 opens the phrase |
| vi, IV, I, V | E♭ major | vim7 | Cm7 to A♭maj7 to E♭maj7 to B♭7 | Cm7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | E♭ major | vim7 | E♭maj7 to Cm7 | 3 tones held from E♭maj7 |
| v, i | F minor | vm7 | Cm7 to Fm7 | Cm7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | F minor | vm7 | Gm7♭5 to Cm7 to Fm7 | 2 tones held from Gm7♭5 |
| iv, v, i | G minor | ivm7 | Cm7 to Dm7 to Gm7 | Cm7 opens the phrase |
| i, iv | G minor | ivm7 | Gm7 to Cm7 | 2 tones held from Gm7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cm9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds D | 4 |
| Cm | 1 ♭3 5 | drops B♭ | 3 |
| C7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes E | 3 |
| CmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | B♭ becomes B | 3 |
| Cm7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | G becomes G♭ | 3 |
| C7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | E♭ becomes F | 3 |
| Cm6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | B♭ becomes A | 3 |
| C9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | E♭ becomes E, D | 3 |
| C | 1 3 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes E | 2 |
| Cdim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | G, B♭ becomes G♭ | 2 |
| Csus2 | 1 2 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes D | 2 |
| Csus4 | 1 4 5 | E♭, B♭ becomes F | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {0, 3, 7, 10}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [7, 10, 0, 3]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C3 | 48 | 130.81 Hz |
| E♭3 | 51 | 155.56 Hz |
| G3 | 55 | 196.00 Hz |
| B♭3 | 58 | 233.08 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Cm7?

Cm7 contains C, E♭, G and B♭. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play Cm7 on piano?

Play C, E♭, G and B♭ together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. E♭ and B♭ are black keys; C and G are white.

### What are the inversions of Cm7?

4 positions: root position C E♭ G B♭, Cm7/E♭, Cm7/G, Cm7/B♭.

### What keys contain Cm7?

6: im7 in C minor, vim7 in E♭ major, vm7 in F minor, ivm7 in G minor, iiim7 in A♭ major, iim7 in B♭ major.

### What is the difference between Cm7 and Cm9?

Adds D. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Cm7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, E♭3 B♭3, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Cm7?

From C3 at A440 in 12-TET: 130.81, 155.56, 196.00, 233.08 Hz.

### What is the set class of Cm7?

Prime form (0358), Forte 4-26, interval vector &lt;012120&gt;.

### How do I transpose Cm7 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. C♯m7 is C♯, E, G♯, B; D♭m7 is D♭, F♭, A♭, C♭.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-7th:c
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12