Piano chord
E minor 7 chord
Em7 is a minor seventh chord: the root E, a minor 3rd up to G, a perfect 5th up to B and a minor 7th up to D.
- Symbol
- Em7
- Notes
- E – G – B – D
Play it yourself
Tap E, G, B and D on the keys below, in any order.
- E
- G
- B
- D
Minor seventh chords add a minor seventh to a minor triad. They sound mellow rather than sad, and are the ii chord in the jazz ii–V–I.
Inversions of Em7
An inversion keeps the same notes but puts a different one at the bottom. Pianists use them to move between chords with less jumping.
- Root position
E – G – B – D
- 1st inversion · Em7/G
G – B – D – E
- 2nd inversion · Em7/B
B – D – E – G
- 3rd inversion · Em7/D
D – E – G – B
Keys with Em7
Em7 occurs naturally in these keys. The Roman numeral shows which step of the scale it is built on.