E minor seventh
How to play Em7 — Minor seventh
Em7 (Minor seventh)E · G · B · D
Guitar samples: Acoustic guitar — University of Iowa (via tonejs-instruments, CC-BY 3.0)
E minor seventh — notes and structure
The Em7 chord is a minor triad with a flat seventh — mellow and soulful, and everywhere in jazz, funk and R&B.
The Em7 minor seventh consists of the notes E, G, B, D. Its interval structure is R–3–5–7 — the root, then each chord tone stacked above it. This is the same chord you see in the interactive finder above, drawn on the guitar fretboard with the root circled and every chord tone labelled.
Em7 stacks a minor third (G), a perfect fifth (B) and a minor seventh (D) above the root E.
The finder shows 2 ways to play Em7 — an open-position shape reaching up to the 9th fret. 1 of them use a barre.
What key is Em7 in?
Every note of Em7 belongs to the scales below, so the chord sounds at home in each of these keys — the roman numeral is the degree it sits on.
- C major — the iii chord
- G major — the vi chord
- D major — the ii chord
- A minor — the v chord
Chords that go with Em7
In C major, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees carry most songs — put Em7 next to these:
Frequently asked questions
- What notes are in the E minor seventh chord?
- The Em7 chord contains the notes E, G, B, D. It is a minor triad with a flat seventh — mellow and soulful, and everywhere in jazz, funk and R&B.
- How many ways can you play Em7 on guitar?
- 2 voicings are shown on this page — from open position up the neck — each with its own fingering diagram and audio.
- Is Em7 a hard chord to play?
- Some voicings use a barre, which takes practice, but the chord is very playable once that shape is comfortable.
- What key does Em7 belong to?
- Em7 fits C major (where it is the iii chord), G major (where it is the vi chord), D major (where it is the ii chord) — every note of the chord is in those scales.