Guitar chords · Minor 7th
Em7 chord on guitar
Em7 (E minor 7th) has four notes: E, G, B and D, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3, 5 and ♭7.
Shapes
How to play Em7
Strum a shape to hear it, or pick it one string at a time. R marks the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7.; the other numbers are the chord tones.
Em7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 7. A movable shape keeps its fingering anywhere on the neck: slide it up or down and the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., on the lowest played string, names the chord.
Open
A shape · fret 7
Notes and formula
What makes Em7 minor 7th
A minor A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords. is a minor chord with a minor 7th added. It is mellower than a plain minor chord, and it is the ii chord of the ii–V–I in jazz and soul.
- 1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
- 3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
- 5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
The ♭3rd and the ♭7th make Em7 a minor A triad with one more 3rd on top, the 7th, which makes four notes: G7, Cmaj7 and Am7 are seventh chords.; you can leave out the 5th.
- ERroot
- G♭3essential
- B5optional
- D♭7essential
- E, the root
- Other chord tones
Em7 often leads to A7 and then D: the ii7–V7–I of D major.
Keys
Keys with Em7
Em7 belongs to six keys: C major (iii7), G major (vi7), D major (ii7), A minor (v7), E minor (i7) and B minor (iv7).
Numerals follow the key's own scale, so III, VI and VII in a minor key are its own major chords. A ♭ or ♯ in front marks a chord from outside the key. How Roman numerals work
Progressions
Progressions with Em7
Common progressions that use Em7, each in a key that spells it Em7. The outlined chord is Em7.
Jazz ii–V–I in D major
ii7 – V7 – Imaj7
- Em7
- A7
- Dmaj7
Each chord falls a fifth to the next — a walk anticlockwise around the circle.
Heard in Autumn Leaves, Fly Me to the Moon
Minor ii–V–i in E minor
iiø7 – V7 – i7
- F♯m7♭5
- B7
- Em7
Half-diminished ii, dominant V7 and back to the minor tonic.
Heard in Blue Bossa, Autumn Leaves
Slash chords
Em7 over another bass note
A A chord with a different note in the bass, written after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E as its lowest note. The letter after the slash is the bass. keeps Em7 on top and puts another note in the bass: the letter after the slash is the lowest note you play.
- Em7/G
Em7 with its ♭3rd, G, in the bass: the first inversion.
- Em7/B
Em7 with its 5th, B, in the bass: the second inversion.
- Em7/D
Em7 with its ♭7th, D, in the bass: the third inversion.
Same root
Other chords on E
Change one or two notes and the same The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7. gives a different colour. Compare them by ear.
- E major
- Em minor
- E7 dominant 7th
- Emaj7 major 7th
- Esus2 suspended 2nd
- Esus4 suspended 4th
- E6 major 6th
- Em6 minor 6th
- Eadd9 add 9
- E9 dominant 9th
- Emaj9 major 9th
- Em9 minor 9th
- E13 dominant 13th
- Emaj13 major 13th
- Em11 minor 11th
- E° diminished
- Em7♭5 half-diminished 7th
- E°7 diminished 7th
- E+ augmented
- E5 power chord
- E7sus4 dominant 7th suspended 4th
- Em(maj7) minor major 7th
- E6/9 six-nine
- Em(add9) minor add 9
- E7♯9 dominant 7th sharp 9th
Questions
Em7, in short
- What notes are in the Em7 chord?
- Em7 (E minor 7th) has four notes: E, G, B and D, the The note a chord is named after and built up from. C is the root of C, Cm and C7., ♭3, 5 and ♭7.
- How do you play Em7 on guitar?
- Em7 has an A chord played near the nut that uses some unfretted strings, such as the open G, C or Em., and one A chord or scale fingering with no open strings. Slide it up or down the neck and it changes its root but not its type: a major shape stays major.: the A shape at The metal strips across the neck, and the spaces between them. Each fret raises a string by one half step. 7.
- What key is Em7 in?
- Em7 belongs to six keys: C major (iii7), G major (vi7), D major (ii7), A minor (v7), E minor (i7) and B minor (iv7).