A minor 7 guitar chords
A - C - E - GA minor 7 chords include the 1st, b3rd, 5th, and b7th notes of the A Major Scale.
- Construction: root, minor third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh.
- A Major Scale: A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G#
- Chord: Am7
- Formula: 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7
- Notes: A - C - E - G
Am7 - A minor seventh (1-b3-5-b7)
Spelling: 1st(A), b3rd(C), 5th(E), b7th(G)
Chart Legend
Numbered Circles: number inside circle indicates which finger to useX: Don't play string
White Numbered Circles: Optional Notes
X on string with optional note: if you omit the note, don't play string
Unmarked strings: Play open
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings
R: Root Note
TAB: Numbers represent frets - not finger positions
Blank Strings: Do not Play
0: play string open
Written: x02010 OR x02013
Notes: x-A-E-G-C-E/G
Form/chord shape: Am7
TAB e |0/3| B |-1-| G |-0-| D |-2-| A |-0-| E |---|
Written: 575555 OR 577587
Notes: A-E-G/A-C-E/G-A
Form/chord shape: Em7
TAB e |-5-| B |5/8| G |-5-| D |5/7| A |-7-| E |-5-|
Written: x-0-7-9-8-8
Notes: x-A-A-E-G-C
Form/chord shape: Dm7
TAB e |-8-| B |-8-| G |-9-| D |-7-| A |-0-| E |---|
↓ A minor 7 chords
Notes
In the first position, the chord is written x02010 OR x02013, while the notes are written x - A - E - G - C - (E/G). In the 2nd position, the chord is written 575555 OR 577587, while the notes are written A - E - (G/A) - C - E/G - A. Both these chords simply take into account the optional note, which is the letter after the forward slash (/). You don't have to play these optional notes, but once you become more competent as a player, you may want to try them.
When you are learning guitar, you will find this chord one of the easiest to play. It is often used in conjunction with the Am chord.
Standard keys using the Am chord: C Major, G Major, F Major, Am, Em, and Dm. Each of the minor keys is a relative minor of the major keys, i.e., C/Am, G/Em, F/Dm. If you are playing songs in any of these keys, you will more than likely come across an Am or Am7 chord.
If you want to practice playing a song with Am7 chords, you could try Bruno Mars - Count On Me. It uses an Am7/G chord which simply means Am7 leading with a G bass note, but you don't have to play the bass note if you don't want to, as the Am7 chord has a G note in its chord structure.
