Minor 7th Chords
m7
Minor 7th Chords are represented as m7 or -7, with m7 being the most popular... the 7th note is a minor 7th above the root note or tonic.
- The chord is in essence a Minor Minor 7th chord - a minor chord with an added minor 7th. This in in contrast to a Minor Major 7th chord - a minor chord with an added major 7th.
- Minor 7th chord: root - minor 3rd - perfect 5th - minor 7th
- Chord formula: 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7
- We calculate the notes of a chord from the Major Scale of the 'root note' of the chord, e.g., the notes of a Gm7 chord are derived from the G Major Scale, the notes of a Cm7 chord are derived from the C Major Scale etc. In the following example, we will calculate the notes of a Bm7 chord:
| Chord Name + (other less-common names) |
Bm7 ( B min7, B-7) |
| B Major Scale (B chords are derived from the B Major Scale) |
B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A# - B |
| Chord Formula for all m7 chords |
1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 |
| Chord Notes (after applying the formula to the Scale) |
B - D - F# - A |
| Chord notes on the Treble Clef |
|
Here are some more examples for calculating the notes of a minor 7 chord:
| Chord |
Major Scale |
Chord Notes: 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 |
| F#m |
F# - G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E# - F# |
F# - A - C# - E |
| Dm |
D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D |
D - F - A - C |
| Fm |
F - G - A - B♭ - C - D - E - F |
F - A♭ - C - E♭ |
| Gm |
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G |
G - B♭ - D - F |
| Am |
A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G - A |
A - C - E - G |
Minor 7th Chords Table
| m 7 |
A |
A#/B♭ |
B |
C |
C#/D♭ |
D |
D#/E♭ |
E |
F |
F#/G♭ |
G |
G#/A♭ |
| Root |
A |
A#/B♭ |
B |
C |
C#/D♭ |
D |
D#/E♭ |
E |
F |
F#/G♭ |
G |
G#/A♭ |
| Minor 3rd |
C |
C#/D♭ |
D |
E♭ |
E/F♭ |
F |
F#/G♭ |
G |
A♭ |
A/B♭♭ |
B♭ |
B/C♭ |
| Perfect 5th |
E |
E#/F |
F# |
G |
G#/A♭ |
A |
A#/B♭ |
B |
C |
C#/D♭ |
D |
D#/E♭ |
| Minor 7th |
G |
G#/A♭ |
A |
B♭ |
B/C♭ |
C |
C#/D♭ |
D |
E♭ |
E/F♭ |
F |
F#/G♭ |
