Cm7 Chord on Ukulele
Cm7 = C – D# – G – A# (Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 5th, Minor 7th)
Cm7 takes the C minor barre and extends it across all four strings instead of three: the index finger lies flat at the third fret from the G string all the way to the A string, with no open strings left at all. It's a step up in coverage from Cm's three-string barre, but the technique is identical — a single flat finger doing all the work, just reaching one string further.
Adding the flatted seventh (Bb) to C minor's triad softens the chord's edge slightly compared to plain Cm, giving it a smoother, more jazz-club character rather than Cm's starker, more dramatic minor color. It functions as the i chord in a C minor key context, or as the ii chord in the key of Bb major, where minor seventh chords built on the second scale degree are a common building block of ii-V-I jazz cadences. Because every string is fretted at the identical third fret, Cm7 has a uniquely uniform, slightly muted tone among ukulele chords — there's no open string anywhere to brighten it, which gives it a smoky, closed-in character distinct from almost every other common shape on the instrument.
Fingerings
Open Position
How to Practice It
A full, complete four-string barre at a single fret is noticeably more demanding than a three-string one, since there's no open string to fall back on if the pressure isn't even — every one of the four strings needs to ring clearly from the same flat finger. Angle the finger slightly and roll it minutely to find the spot where all four strings speak without buzzing; this usually takes more trial and error than a partial barre. Since Cm7 shares its exact fret and barre position with Cm, practicing the switch between the two — lifting only the pinky-side portion of the barre off the A string to turn Cm7 into Cm — is a useful lesson in how adding or removing a single note changes a seventh chord back into its parent triad.
Common Progressions
- i – iv7 – V7 (Cm7 – Fm7 – G7, in C minor)
- ii7 – V7 – I (Cm7 – F7 – Bb, in the key of Bb major)
- i7 – VI7 – II7 – V7, a full minor-key turnaround built entirely from seventh chords
- A slow, static Cm7 vamp is common under a moody, sustained melodic line.
FAQ
- How does Cm7 differ from Cm on ukulele?
- Cm7 extends the same third-fret barre across all four strings, including the previously open G string, adding the chord's flatted seventh where Cm leaves that string open.
- Why does Cm7 sound smoother than plain Cm?
- The added minor seventh softens the triad's starker minor color, giving the chord a rounder, more jazz-inflected character rather than Cm's more dramatic edge.
- Where does Cm7 function as a ii chord?
- In the key of Bb major, where it's the ii chord and commonly precedes F7 (V7) on the way to a Bb (I) resolution — a classic ii-V-I cadence.
- Why is the full barre in Cm7 harder than Cm's partial barre?
- With no open string left to fall back on, every one of the four strings depends entirely on even finger pressure, so there's more room for a buzz to slip in unnoticed than with a three-string barre.
- Is Cm7 ever used outside a jazz context?
- Occasionally, in moodier folk or pop-adjacent ukulele arrangements looking for a darker, smokier color than a plain minor triad, though its most natural home is still the ii-V-I vocabulary jazz harmony built around minor seventh chords.
- Is there a lower-position alternative to this Cm7 barre?
- Not one that keeps all four correct chord tones without any open string clashing — because none of Cm7's four notes coincide with any open GCEA pitch, every practical voicing within easy reach still requires fretting all four strings somewhere.
- What note distinguishes Cm7 from a plain diminished or major seventh chord built on the same root?
- Its flatted third and flatted seventh together are what set it apart — the flatted third makes it minor rather than major, and the flatted rather than natural seventh keeps it a minor seventh chord rather than the darker, more unstable minor-major seventh sound that a raised seventh would produce instead.
Cm7 on other instruments: Cm7 on Guitar, Cm7 on Piano. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.