Em7 Guitar Chord Explained

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on the E m7 chord, a beautiful addition to your guitar-playing repertoire. This intriguing chord, which belongs to the Minor Chords family, is composed of four distinct notes: E, G, B, and D. The intervals that construct this chord are 1, b3, 5, and b7, also known as the Root, Minor Third, Perfect Fifth, and Minor Seventh, respectively.

Understanding the intervals that make up a chord is crucial to mastering the fretboard and enhancing your musical knowledge. If you're new to the concept of intervals, you might find our tutorial on building chords by stacking intervals particularly useful.

In the following sections, we will provide detailed chord diagrams and fretboard patterns to visually represent the tones that compose the E m7 chord. This will not only help you understand the chord's structure but also how to play it effectively.

While the E m7 chord might appear complex, it's a common component in many jazz chord progressions, and mastering it can significantly enhance your versatility as a guitarist. If you're interested in exploring more advanced chords, check out our tutorial on intermediate guitar chords.

Remember, understanding and playing chords is an art that takes time and practice. So, don't rush. Take your time with the E m7 and enjoy the journey of musical discovery. Happy playing!

We can see the E minor seventh chord like an E minor chord (E, G and B) with an additional note, D, that is a minor seventh from the root (10 half-steps).

Creating the Em7 chord is easy, just take the E minor scale:

E F# G A B C D

And select the first, third, fifth and seventh note. You get E, G, B and D.

It is a cool chord that you can play with a couple of really easy shapes, suitable for beginners.

For example, position 4 sounds beautiful and you only have to use one finger, on the 2nd fret of the A string.

Keys With The E Minor Seventh Chords

Here below we show the most common keys that contain the E Minor Seventh chord.

As this chord is composed of 4 notes (E, G, B and D) we use 4 tones harmonization tables.

C Major Key

In the C major key, you find the E m7 at the 3rd degree.

G Major Key

E m7 in the relative minor chord (6th) of the G major key.

D Major Key

The 2nd chord of the D major key is our E m7.

Songs With E minor 7

There are tons of songs with the E minor 7 chord; on the guitar, this chord can be played with many open strings, so it has a really powerful sound.

Here are some popular songs that contain this chord:

• Grateful Dead: Shakedown Street
• Nat King Cole: Autumn Leaves
• Ben E. King: Stand By Me
• The Beatles: Yesterday
• Bob Marley: Redemption Song

Em7 - Practice And Playing Tips

Here are a few more suggestions that will help you with this chord.

• Finger Placement: Ensure your fingers are curled and pressing down just behind the frets to avoid buzzing sounds.
• Strumming: You can use shapes with all six strings for a full, resonant sound.
• Hand Position: Keep your wrist relaxed and slightly bent to easily reach the frets.
• Chord Transitions: Practice switching between Em7 and other chords like G, D, or C to enhance muscle memory.
• Use in Songs: Incorporate Em7 into songs you know, especially those in genres like folk, rock, or blues, to appreciate its versatile nature.

E Minor Seventh Guitar Chord Shapes

Chord boxes are sorted from the easiest to the hardest. Learn how to read chord diagrams.

If you have difficulties with bar chord shapes, check the Bar Chords Tips tutorial.

You can also use this accessible chords page with written diagrams instruction.

Position 1
Movable

Position 2
Movable

Position 3
Open

Position 4
Open

Position 5
Open

Position 6
Open

Position 7
Open

Position 8
Open

Position 9
Movable

Position 10
Movable

Position 11
Open

Position 12
BarreMovable

Position 13
Open

Position 14
BarreMovable

Position 15
BarreMovable

Position 16
BarreMovable

Position 17
BarreMovable

Position 18
BarreMovable

Position 19
BarreMovable

Position 20
BarreOpen

Position 21
BarreMovable

You can find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf