Cm69 guitar chord
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. Because it costs no finger, it sounds a note the closed shape has none left for -- a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath. Either a familiar grip with open strings added, or a shape so sparse the open strings carry the chord. These belong to their key rather than to a shape, so D, A, G and E have many and Eb a handful.
- Tap a note to hear it
- Arrows change position
- Fingers, notes or intervals
- Play the chord
About Cm69 — open string voicings
Cm69 is C, Eb, G, A and D — Cm6 with the ninth added as well.
It sounds cool and entirely at rest. No seventh, so nothing leans: a common last chord of a minor tune.
Cm69 notes and formula
| C | Eb | G | A | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ♭3 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
Minor tonic — nothing in it is pulling.
Also written Cm6/9, Cmin6/9 or C-6/9. The same chord either way; which spelling you meet depends on who wrote the chart.
How to play Cm69
An open string left ringing against a fretted grip. It costs no finger, so it can sound a note the closed shape has none left for: a tension on top, or a pedal root underneath.
These belong to their key rather than to a shape: they cannot be moved up the neck. D, A, G and E have many; E♭ has a handful.
Cm69 has 4 of them, on the middle four strings, the top four strings, the bottom four strings and strings 6-4-3-2, from the 4th fret up to the 5th — every inversion the chord has: A in the bass and D in the bass. The one to learn first is the A shape at the 4th fret, which is the easiest grip here.
Start with x30045 — no barre and 2 open strings. 1 of the 10 shapes here sits in open position. 5 of the 10 need a barre. Together they cover the neck from the 1st fret to the 15th.
| Frets | Where | Bass | Top | Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| x3123x | 1st fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| x30045 | open position | C, root position | A | 2 open strings |
| 8677xx | 6th fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
| x67788 | 6th fret | Eb, 1st inversion | C | all fretted |
| 8-x-7-8-8-10 | 7th fret | C, root position | D | barred |
| 8-x-10-8-10-10 | 8th fret | C, root position | D | barred |
| x-x-10-8-10-10 | 8th fret | C, root position | D | barred |
| x-10-10-8-10-10 | 8th fret | G, 2nd inversion | D | barred |
| 11-10-10-12-10-10 | 10th fret | Eb, 1st inversion | D | barred |
| x-15-13-14-15-x | 13th fret | C, root position | D | all fretted |
The same notes rebuilt from scratch give 4 shell, 13 drop 2, 8 drop 3 and 14 rootless voicings, each on its own page.
Tensions. A shell of Cm69, root, third and seventh, leaves a string free, and the tones that belong over it are the 11 (F).
How to use Cm69
How you get to it. The turn that lands on Cm69 is Dm7♭5 to G7♭9: the ii and the V of C minor, which is where a minor tonic is usually arrived at rather than simply begun on.
In which keys. Every note of Cm69 belongs to G minor (the iv, the subdominant) and Bb major (the ii, the supertonic).
What to play over Cm69
Every note of Cm69 is in C dorian and C melodic minor.
Chords near Cm69
Change one note of Cm69 and you have Cm6 (drop the ninth), Cm9 (the sixth becomes a flat seventh), CmMaj9 (the sixth becomes a major seventh), Cmadd9 (drop the sixth) or C69 (the minor third becomes a major third).
Cm69 is a minor chord — root, minor third, fifth. Minor chords on every root.
On Cm69’s sound and use this page follows Mark Levine, The Jazz Piano Book (Sher Music, 1989). The shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in where the chords and the theory come from.