C minor: scale and chords

The C minor scale

C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭

Three flats: E♭ A♭ B♭; three black keys on a piano (E♭ A♭ B♭). Whole and half steps: W H W W H W W.

Harmonic minor raises the seventh to B: the chord on the fifth degree turns major (G, G7) and pulls back to C.

In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: C4 261.6 · D4 293.7 · E♭4 311.1 · F4 349.2 · G4 392.0 · A♭4 415.3 · B♭4 466.2

Play the scale

The chords in C minor

Tap a chord to hear it.

The loop plays i–VI–III–VII: Cm A♭ E♭ B♭.

Keys that mix with C minor

On the Camelot wheel C minor is 5A (Open Key 10m). Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:

• 5B E♭ major relative major, the same seven notes
• 4A F minor one step down
• 6A G minor one step up
• 7A D minor two steps up, the energy boost

Same keynote, the other mode: C major (8B), three notes apart.

Where C minor sits

Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): C4–C5 fits the soprano and alto parts; C3–C4 fits the tenor and bass parts. Find your own range.

As a sub or an 808, the keynote is C1 at 32.7 Hz, or C2 at 65.4 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to C.

What plays

Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.

Then hum over it

The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.

Sources

Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.

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