Cm7 Guitar Chord: 5 Essential Ways To Play This Chord

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Want to learn the Cm7 guitar chord? We’re going to show you EVERY possible way to learn this chord. 

In this free guitar lesson you will learn:

• 5 essential ways to play the Cm7 guitar chord.
• The no 1 secret to mastering guitar chords quickly.
• 3 must-know tips that will make your chords sound amazing.
• 3 tips for quick & easy barre chords. (With bonus video & tips!)

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The two most common ways to play a Cm7 guitar chord are:

• Cm7 guitar chord. (Em7 shape barre chord.)
• Cm7 guitar chord. (Am7 shape barre chord.)

Let’s learn how to play both of these chords.

Cm7 Guitar Chord (Em7 Shape)

• Barre your first finger ALL of the strings on the 8th fret.
• Place your 3rd finger on the 10th fret of the A string. (5th string.)

We refer to this chord as the ‘Em7 shape’ because this chord uses the physical shape of a Em7 guitar chord.

Here’s an Em chord:

To learn this chord, go here: Em Guitar Chord – 4 Easy Ways To Play This Essential Chord

Can you see how this chord ‘fits’ within the Cm7 barre chord. The only difference is that you are barring across the 8th fret with your first finger.

Cm7 Guitar Chord (Am7 Shape)

• Barre your first finger over the 3rd fret from the A string (5th string) to the high E string. (1st string.)
• Place your 3rd finger on the 5th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
• Place your 2nd finger on the 4th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)

In the guitar world, we refer to this barre chord as the ‘Am7 shape’ because it is based on an Am7 guitar chord.

Here’s a Am7 guitar chord for reference:

To learn this chord, go here: Am7 Guitar Chord: 6 Ways To Play This Chord

Can you see this chord shape fits in the Cm7 guitar chord? The only difference, is that this shape has been moved up to the 5th fret and you are now barring over the 3rd fret with your first finger.

Bonus Barre Chord Tips!

Both of these chords are barre chords. If you don’t know how to play barre chords, watch this video:

Now we’ve learned the two most common ways to play a Cm7 guitar chord. Let’s learn some other popular voicings.

Cm7 Guitar Chord (Cm7 Shape)

Here’s a really cool voicing of the Cm7 guitar chord.

• Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd fret of the A string. (5th string.)
• Place your 1st finger on the 1st fret of the D string. (4th string.)
• Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the G string. (3rd string.)
• Place your 4th finger on the 4th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)

Here are a few reasons why you should learn this chord:

• It uses four fingers, so is perfect for developing your technique and dexterity.
• It sounds fantastic!
• This is perfect for advanced beginner guitarists as it doesn’t use barring technique.

If you find this guitar chord too hard, go here:4 Easy Ways To Play The C Minor Guitar Chord

What Is A Cm7 Guitar Chord?

A Cm7 guitar chord is a more advanced version of a regular Cm guitar chord.

The only difference between a Cm7 and a Cm is one note. That note is a Bb.

Here are all of the notes in a Cm guitar chord:

• Root – C.
• Minor 3rd – Eb.
• Perfect 5th – G.

Here are all of the notes in a Cm7 guitar chord:

• Root – C.
• Minor 3rd – Eb.
• Perfect 5th – G.
• Flattened 7th – Bb.

To learn more about guitar theory, go here: Guitar Theory: A 5 Step Guide

Pro Tip!

A Cm7 guitar chord can be written in a variety of different ways.

Here are a few classic examples:

• Cm7. (The small ‘m’ stands for ‘minor’.)
• C Minor 7.
• C-7. (The minus sign stands for ‘minor’.)
• Cm7 guitar chord.

In this guitar lesson, we are going to refer to the Cm7 as the ‘Cm7 guitar chord’.

Cm7 Guitar Chord (Dm7 Shape)

In the guitar world, we refer to this chord shape as the ‘Dm7 shape’ because it is uses the EXACT same shape as a regular Dm7 guitar chord.

Let’s compare.

Here’s a regular Dm7:

Here’s a Cm7 guitar chord (Dm7 shape):

• Place your 1st finger on the 10th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
• Place your 2nd finger on the 11th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)
• Place your 3rd finger on the 11th fret of the high E string. (1st string.)
• Place your 4th finger on the 12th fret of the G string. (3rd string.)

Notice how the shape of the Dm7 chord is being used within the Cm7 guitar chord.

Why does this work?

This works because the Dm7 guitar chord is a moveable shape. This shape can be moved up and down the fret board. This is what’s known as the CAGED guitar system.

To learn more about this, go here:CAGED Guitar System: How To Master Chords

Cm7 Guitar Chord (Gm7 Shape)

• Place your 1st finger on the 8th fret of the low E string. (6th string.)
• Place your 2nd finger on the 8th fret of the D string. (4th string.)
• Place your 3rd finger on the 8th fret of the G string. (3rd string.)
• Place your 4th finger on the 8th fret of the B string. (2nd string.)

When you play this chord, make sure that you don’t play the A string (5th string) and high E string. (1st string.)

How do I practice the Cm7 guitar chord?

There are many ways to practice guitar chords. We’re going to show you 4 of the best ways to master guitar chords.

These methods have been tried and tested in thousands of hours of real world guitar lessons. We guarantee that your chords will sound amazing if you follow these simple steps.

1) Squeeze Your Fretting Hand After You Learn A Chord

Whenever you learn a new guitar chord, squeeze your fretting hand after you’ve learned it.

This triggers your muscle memory and teaches your hand to remember the chord.

However, you must make sure that the chord is correct. If the chord is incorrect and you squeeze your hand, you will be teaching yourself to remember the wrong chord.

How do I know if the chord is right?

Here are a few simple things you can do to check that the chord is correct:

• Check that your fingers are in the correct place. 

When you play guitar chords, your fingers MUST be in the right place. Always check the chord box as a reference.

• Make sure that each note is clear.

If you’re playing a guitar chord correctly, each note should be clear. There should be no dead notes.

• Make sure that chord the feels good. 

You shouldn’t feel ANY pain in your fretting hand. Your hand should feel nice and relaxed when you play guitar chords.

2) Look Away From The Fretboard When You Play Guitar Chords

The best way to test if you know a guitar chord is to:

Try and play it without looking at the fretboard. 

Here are a 7 simple steps you can follow to master this guitar hack:

1. Learn any of the Cm7 guitar chords in this article.
2. Squeeze your hand once the chord is correct.
3. Take your fretting hand off of the fret board.
4. Look into the corner of the room. (Make sure your fretboard is out of sight!)
5. Attempt to play the chord.
6. Check the chord to see if it’s right.

Did you get it right? If so, great! Try another Cm7 guitar chord. If you didn’t, repeat steps 1-7 again.

3) Practice Moving Between Each Guitar Chord

The best way to practice the Cm7 guitar chord is to move between each guitar chord.

To do this:

• Start from the lowest Cm7 guitar chord and ascend up to the highest one on the fret board.

You would play the chords in this order:

• Cm7 guitar chord. (Cm7 Shape.)
• Cm7 guitar chord. (Am7 shape.)
• Cm7 guitar chord. (Gm7 shape.)
• Cm7 guitar chord. (Em7 shape.)
• Cm7 gutiar chord. (Dm7 shape.)

Once you’ve perfected this, practice the Cm7 guitar chord from the highest point on the fret board and descend to the lowest.

4) Use A Cm7 Chord Instead Of A Regular Cm Chord

Any time you see a Cm guitar chord in a song that you’re learning, use a Cm7 guitar chord instead.

For example, if the chord progression was:

C minor | Eb Major | Gb Major | F7   |

It would now become:

C minor 7 | Eb Major | Gb Major | F7 |

Notice how the C minor chord has now become ‘C minor 7’. This is a great way of adding some sophistication into your guitar playing.

5) Learn Music Which Uses The Cm7 Guitar Chord

One of the best ways to practice a Cm7 guitar chord is to use it in a musical situation.

Here are some songs which use the Cm7 guitar chord:

1) ‘This Love’ by Maroon 5

The Cm7 guitar chord is used in the verse and chorus of this song.

To learn this song go here: This Love by Maroon 5

2) A C Minor Blues Progression

A minor blues isn’t as common as a major blues, however it is used frequently by artists such as B.B king and Eric Clapton.

Here’s a minor blues in the key of Cm.

3) ‘All Along The Watchtower’ by Jimi Hendrix

Although song was originally written by Bob Dylan, it was made famous by Hendrix. His blistering guitar licks and soulful vocals gave this song a new breath of life.

The Cm7 guitar chord is used in the opening riff of this song.

You can learn this song here: All Along The Watchtower Tab