C Minor Scale
The C natural minor scale runs C, D, E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat and back to C. Its third, sixth and seventh are lower than in C major. Play C-E flat-G as a chord and you can hear the minor third without running through all seven notes.
- Notes: C-D-E flat-F-G-A flat-B flat
- Key signature: three flats
- Relative major: E flat major
Which notes make C natural minor?
C-D-E flat-F-G-A flat-B flat-C. The half steps are D-E flat and G-A flat. On piano, those are adjacent keys. B flat-C at the top is a whole step.
Now play C major: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. You can identify the parallel-minor change one letter at a time: E becomes E flat, A becomes A flat, B becomes B flat. C, D, F and G stay put. This is a concrete way to hear why the two scales share a root but differ in color.
What does the key signature show?
C minor has three flats: B flat, E flat and A flat. They are printed in that conventional order at the beginning of a staff. The scale itself meets E flat first when you start on C.
E flat major uses the same seven pitch names, starting on E flat. Play E flat-G-B flat-E flat over an E-flat bass, then C-E flat-G-C over C. The changed bass and ending give the shared material a different center.
Which chords can you build?
Stack alternate notes to get Cm, D diminished, E flat, Fm, Gm, A flat and B flat. The C-minor triad is C-E flat-G. The fifth chord using only natural-minor notes is G-B flat-D, or G minor.
A C-minor piece can also use G major or G7. Those chords contain B natural, which is outside natural minor but a half step below C. Play Gm-Cm, then G7-Cm and follow B to C by ear. C Harmonic Minor explains that raised seventh.
A two-key check
Play C-E flat-G as a chord, then C-E-G. Only the middle note changes. Return to C minor, play B flat-C, then B-C above it. You have heard the distinction between major and minor thirds and the separate choice of a raised seventh.