Pentania — Explore the harmonies

Chords › Cm7

Which scales on a minor seventh chord?

The minor seventh chord (minor third and seventh) is the most common minor in jazz. From open Dorian to dark Phrygian, the scale choice sets its color.

Cm7 = C · Eb · G · Bb

guide tones (3rd & 7th) avoid

The core scale

Dorian — bright minor, major thirteenth

A minor (b3, b7) lit up by a major sixth (thirteenth) that makes it the most open and least dark minor mode. The improviser reaches for it on minor ii chords and any minor where you want light without abandoning the minor color.

5 more colors on a Cm7

Beyond the safe scale, the minor seventh chord takes 5 more, from the gentlest to the most tense (Aebersold order):

🔒 Their keyboard, their guide tones and their color on your chord — plus the analysis of your whole chart — are in the tool. Open the tool →