C Minor Guitar Chord (Cm) | The 8 Easy Ways to Play (w/ Charts)
Learn The C Minor Guitar Chord Step-by-step
The C Minor chord -- C, Eb, and G -- is going to come in handy over the course of your guitar playing career. You'll find it featured prominently in songs like Steely Dan's Don't Take Me Alive, but there is a small catch. This chord can be difficult for beginner players to pull off, and certain voicings are even enough to give advanced players a bit of trouble. Thankfully, that's nothing a bit of knowledge and practice can't help you overcome, so read on, as we cover the many ways you can play C Minor.
How to Play C Minor Guitar Chord
We'll start easy, as there are ways to play C Minor using just two fingers:
Place your 1st finger on the 2nd string/1st fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 4th string/1st fret
Play string 3 open
Mute strings 1, 5, and 6
C Minor - Two-Finger #2
Place your 1st finger on the 6th string/3rd fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/3rd fret
Play strings 3 and 4 open
Mute strings 1 and 2
C Minor Barre
These two voicings are adequate, but if you want a fuller C Minor sound, you'll want to add some more fingers into the mix. We'll start with the barre chord version of C Minor, at the 3rd fret:
Use your 1st finger to bar the strings on the 3rd fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd string/4th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 4th string/5th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 3rd string/5th fret
Mute string 6
C Minor Non-Barre
You can play a similar version of this shape as well, without the barre:
Place your 1st finger on the 1st string/3rd fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd string/4th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 4th string/5th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 3rd string/5th fret
Mute strings 5 and 6
C Minor - Alternate #1
Now, if you want a challenge, you'll want to learn these alternate voicings that you can also play in open position:
Place your 1st finger on the 5th string/3rd fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 1st string/3rd fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd string/4th fret
Mute strings 3, 4, and 6
C Minor - Alternate #2
Place your 1st finger on the 4th string/1st fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/3rd fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 1st string/3rd fret
Place your 4th finger on the 2nd string/4th fret
Play string 3 open
Mute string 6
C Minor - Alternate #3
You can also venture away from open position to play C Minor, up to 5th and 6th frets:
Place your 1st finger on the 4th string/5th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/6th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 6th string/8th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 3rd string/8th fret
Mute strings 1 and 2
C Minor - Alternate #4
Place your 1st finger on the 5th string/6th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 6th string/8th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd string/8th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/8th fret
Mute strings 3 and 4
Make Your Chord Voicings Sound Flawless
You'll want to make sure that you're executing these C Minor chord variations with proper technique, so be sure to start slowly, commit your finger positions to memory, and work at these voicings often to reinforce what you've learned. As always, good luck, and happy practicing!