JamEaseGuitar scales › Natural Minor Scale
C Natural Minor Scale – Guitar
The seven-note minor scale (the Aeolian mode): darker and more melodic than the minor pentatonic. Here it is in C: the notes, the whole neck, all five boxes with TAB, and a backing track to practise over.
Notes in the C natural minor scale
- C1
- D2
- E♭b3
- F4
- G5
- A♭b6
- B♭b7
Formula: 1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – b7. Use it to solo over songs in C minor, and over C blues and rock progressions.
Same seven notes as the E♭ major scale (its relative major).
C natural minor scale on the whole neck
Know the scale?
Now solo with it.
A guitar soloing course: 81 short lessons, each one ends with you jamming over a real backing track.
- From 3 notes to your own solos
- Every note on the neck, with sound and TAB
- 379 backing tracks in every key
The 5 boxes (positions) with TAB
Each box is one hand position. Learn Box 1 first: play it up with the TAB, then back down, then move to the next box – together they cover the whole neck.
Box 1 · frets 7–12
e|-------------------------------------------------8--10-11-| B|----------------------------------------8--9--11----------| G|----------------------------7--8--10-12-------------------| D|-------------------8--10-12-------------------------------| A|----------8--10-11----------------------------------------| E|-8--10-11-------------------------------------------------|
Box 2 · frets 9–14
e|----------------------------------------------10-11-13-| B|-------------------------------------9--11-13----------| G|----------------------------10-12-13-------------------| D|-------------------10-12-13----------------------------| A|----------10-11-13-------------------------------------| E|-10-11-13----------------------------------------------|
Box 3 · frets 11–17
e|-------------------------------------------------------------11-13-15-16-| B|-------------------------------------------------11-13-15-16-------------| G|-------------------------------------12-13-15-17-------------------------| D|-------------------------12-13-15-17-------------------------------------| A|-------------11-13-15-17-------------------------------------------------| E|-11-13-15-16-------------------------------------------------------------|
Box 4 · frets 2–7
e|-------------------------------3-4-6-| B|-------------------------3-4-6-------| G|-------------------3-5-7-------------| D|-------------3-5-6-------------------| A|-------3-5-6-------------------------| E|-3-4-6-------------------------------|
Box 5 · frets 4–9
e|---------------------------------4-6-8-| B|-------------------------4-6-8-9-------| G|-------------------5-7-8---------------| D|-------------5-6-8---------------------| A|-------5-6-8---------------------------| E|-4-6-8---------------------------------|
3 C minor licks to play with it
Box 1 licks from the JamEase lick library, written for C minor (h = hammer-on, p = pull-off, / = slide, b = bend, ~ = vibrato).
Top-string answer
Down from the top, a step back, and home on the high root.
e|-11-8-----8--| B|-------11----| G|-------------| D|-------------| A|-------------| E|-------------|
Pull-off ladder
Two notes a string, pulling off, all the way down to the home note.
e|-11p-8-----------------------| B|---------11p-8---------------| G|-----------------10p-8-------| D|-------------------------10--| A|-----------------------------| E|-----------------------------|
Vibrato home
Two notes, then hold the root and shake it. Vibrato is your voice.
e|-------------| B|-------------| G|-8---10------| D|---------10~-| A|-------------| E|-------------|
C minor backing track
Play the boxes over this, starting and ending phrases on the gold root notes.
Sexy Slow Blues Backing Track in C Minor | Bonamassa Style Jam Track (44.666 BPM) – Now YOU Shred Backing Tracks
Songs in C minor
These songs are in C minor, so this is a scale that fits for soloing over them:
- When We Were Young – Adele
- Rolling In The Deep – Adele
- Jar Of Hearts – Christina Perri
- Crazy – Gnarls Barkley
- She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5
- Apologize – OneRepublic
- Impossible – James Arthur
- This Love – Maroon 5
- Sorry – Justin Bieber
- Coco - Remember Me Lullaby – Misc Cartoons
- Skyfall – Adele
- Baby One More Time – Britney Spears
Other scales in C
- C Minor Pentatonic Scale
- C Major Pentatonic Scale
- C Blues Scale
- C Major Blues Scale
- C Major Scale
- C Dorian Mode
- C Mixolydian Mode
- C Phrygian Mode
- C Lydian Mode
- C Harmonic Minor Scale
- C Melodic Minor Scale
Natural Minor Scale in other keys
- C♯ Natural Minor Scale
- D Natural Minor Scale
- E♭ Natural Minor Scale
- E Natural Minor Scale
- F Natural Minor Scale
- F♯ Natural Minor Scale
- G Natural Minor Scale
- G♯ Natural Minor Scale
- A Natural Minor Scale
- B♭ Natural Minor Scale
- B Natural Minor Scale
Put it to use: solo with it, step by step, starting with three notes.
FAQ
What notes are in the C natural minor scale?
C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb. The formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7.
Where do I start playing the C natural minor scale on guitar?
Start with Box 1, frets 7–12. The root note C is on the low E string at fret 8.
What is the relative major of C minor?
Eb major – it uses the same notes.