Em7 Chord: Guitar, Piano and Notes

The Em7 chord is a minor seventh chord built on the root note E. Its notes are E, G, B and D.

Minor seventh chords are smooth and neutral, softer than a plain minor triad. They're a staple of jazz, funk and neo-soul, where they add motion without heavy tension.

Guitar shapes Piano fingering

Root

Quality

Em7 on piano

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Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

To play Em7 on piano, place your right-hand thumb on E, then index, middle and little finger on G, B and D. Press the keys together and listen for an even sound. Practice moving in and out of the chord slowly, then bring in a metronome.

Em7 on guitar

View:

Switch to the interactive diagram to hear the chord, change voicing and swap finger numbers for note names.

On guitar, Em7 is commonly played with the voicing shown above. Strum only the strings marked as active in the diagram.

Play the chord

Em7

E · G · B · D

Em7 chord notes

Formula: 1 · ♭3 · 5 · ♭7Notes: E · G · B · D

Degree	Interval	Semitones	Note
1	Root	0	E
♭3	Minor third	3	G
5	Perfect fifth	7	B
♭7	Minor seventh	10	D

How to use the Em7 chord

The Em7 chord is built from a root, a minor third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Start at the root E and stack the intervals to get the whole chord: E, G, B and D. The same formula gives you the chord in any other key.

Minor seventh chords are foundational in jazz, funk, neo-soul and R&B. They're typically the iim7, iiim7 or vim7 chord of a major key and the i7 of a minor key.

Famous Songs in Em7

These well-known tracks all feature the Em7 chord - a great way to put it in musical context.

1
Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now
Starship
2
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman
Bryan Adams
3
Thats What Friends Are For
Dionne Warwick
4
Lean on Me
Bill Withers
5
Breezin
George Benson

Common progressions

The Em7 chord works beautifully in these progressions. Click a chord name to jump to its page.

Emotional progression

vi → IV → I → V

G D F♯°C

Natural minor progression

i → VI → III → VII

Em C G D

Minor blues

i → iv → v → i

Em Am Bm Em

Once Em7 feels comfortable, the chords below open up new progressions. Each one shares notes, keys or a harmonic function with it, which is what makes it the natural place to go next.

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the Em7 chord?

The Em7 chord contains E, G, B and D.

Is the Em7 chord major or minor?

Em7 is a minor seventh chord. Minor seventh chords are smooth and neutral, softer than a plain minor triad. They're a staple of jazz, funk and neo-soul, where they add motion without heavy tension.

How do you play Em7 on piano?

Place your fingers on E, G, B and D and play them together. The root usually goes to the little finger of the left hand, the upper notes to the right.

How do you play Em7 on guitar?

Em7 is typically played with the fingering shown in the diagram above. If one of the chord tones lines up with an open string, an open position is worth trying too.

What chords work well with Em7?

Em7 pairs naturally with the chords in the related section: a perfect fifth up or down, the relative major or minor, and anything sharing two notes with it.

Keep exploring

Deepen your understanding of the Em7 chord with our other music theory tools.

Browse all chords Explore scales Explore progressions Chord Transposer Chord Finder Chords in Key Try the Piano Open Circle of Fifths