C minor seventh arpeggio on guitar
The C minor seventh arpeggio (Cm7) has 4 notes: C, E♭, G, B♭ (C, E flat, G, and B flat), degrees 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 of the chord. On guitar it fits the 5 shapes of the CAGED system, always root to root: two octaves in the G and E shapes and one octave in the C, A, and D shapes.
- C 1
- E♭ E flat ♭3
- G 5
- B♭ B flat ♭7
Whole neck: every note of the arpeggio up to fret 15. The root (C) is highlighted.
Positions as text
C shape (frets 0 to 3), from the lowest note to the highest:
- string 5: 3 (C)
- string 4: 1 (E♭)
- string 3: open (G), 3 (B♭)
- string 2: 1 (C)
A shape (frets 3 to 6), from the lowest note to the highest:
- string 5: 3 (C), 6 (E♭)
- string 4: 5 (G)
- string 3: 3 (B♭), 5 (C)
G shape (frets 5 to 8), from the lowest note to the highest:
- string 6: 8 (C)
- string 5: 6 (E♭)
- string 4: 5 (G), 8 (B♭)
- string 3: 5 (C), 8 (E♭)
- string 2: 8 (G)
- string 1: 6 (B♭), 8 (C)
E shape (frets 8 to 11), from the lowest note to the highest:
- string 6: 8 (C), 11 (E♭)
- string 5: 10 (G)
- string 4: 8 (B♭), 10 (C)
- string 3: 8 (E♭)
- string 2: 8 (G), 11 (B♭)
- string 1: 8 (C)
D shape (frets 10 to 13), from the lowest note to the highest:
- string 4: 10 (C), 13 (E♭)
- string 3: 12 (G)
- string 2: 11 (B♭), 13 (C)
Positions on the neck
The positions follow the CAGED system: the neck splits into 5 regions, each with the shape of an open chord (C, A, G, E and D) moved to C. In each shape the arpeggio goes from root to root: two octaves in the E and G shapes (root on the 6th string), one octave in the C and A shapes (root on the 5th) and in the D shape (root on the 4th).
The faded notes around a position are chord tones too: use them to extend the arpeggio down or up.
Use Degrees to see the role of each note (1 is the root) and Listen to hear the selected position going up and down, at the tempo you want. With the whole neck, Listen plays the arpeggio from the lowest root.
Diagrams in standard tuning (E A D G B E).
Formula
- C
- 3
- E♭
- 4
- G
- 3
- B♭
- 2
- C
Degrees: 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7 (root, minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh). Distance between the notes: 3 – 4 – 3 – 2 semitones, counting the step back to the upper root.
About the minor seventh chord
A minor chord with a seventh: less dramatic than a plain minor, and softer. It is the ii of the ii–V–I progression (Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7), found in jazz, bossa, soul and funk; in pop it often replaces the simple minor chord without anyone noticing.
The chord and the scale
- C minor seventh chord (Cm7) The chord shapes on guitar, with sound
- C Dorian scale The scale to practice with it: it has every note of the arpeggio plus the ones in between.
Other C scales with every note of the arpeggio
More C arpeggios
- Major (C)
- Minor (Cm)
- Seventh (C7)
- Major seventh (C7M)
- Minor seventh (Cm7)
- Half-diminished (Cm7(♭5))
- Diminished seventh (C°7)
- Augmented (C+)
The minor seventh arpeggio in other keys
Frequently asked questions
What are the notes of the C minor seventh arpeggio?
The C minor seventh arpeggio (Cm7) has the notes C, E flat, G, and B flat: degrees 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 of the chord.
How do you play the C minor seventh arpeggio on guitar?
With the CAGED shapes, each from root to root: C shape (frets 0 to 3, 1 octave), A shape (frets 3 to 6, 1 octave), G shape (frets 5 to 8, 2 octaves), E shape (frets 8 to 11, 2 octaves), and D shape (frets 10 to 13, 1 octave).
Which scale goes with the C minor seventh arpeggio?
The C Dorian scale, which has every note of the arpeggio. These also have all of them: C minor scale, C minor pentatonic scale, C blues scale, C Phrygian scale, and C dominant diminished (half-whole) scale.