Minor 7th

Notes and formula

The formula is 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7, or 0 – 3 – 7 – 10 in semitones from the root. It is a minor triad with a minor third added on top: C to E♭, E♭ to G, G to B♭.

Unlike a dominant seventh, the chord contains no tritone — the distance from E♭ to B♭ is a perfect fifth, not the unstable six semitones. That single structural fact explains everything the chord does: it has no built-in destination.

How to play it

On piano the plain form is C–E♭–G–B♭. Pianists routinely drop the fifth and play C–E♭–B♭, or leave the root to the bass and voice E♭–G–B♭ in the right hand; the third and seventh carry the chord's identity, the fifth carries none.

On guitar the barre form is x35343 with the root on the fifth string. The two open minor sevenths — Am7 at x02010 and Em7 at 022030 — are among the easiest chords on the instrument, which is why they turn up in so much folk and soul writing.

What it does in a progression

Its main role is the ii of a ii–V–I: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 is the most common three-chord unit in jazz, and the minor seventh is where it starts. In that position the chord is a preparation — settled enough to be heard clearly, unfinished enough to want the dominant next.

It is equally at home doing nothing. Because it contains no tritone, a minor seventh can be the only chord for eight or sixteen bars without turning stale; modal jazz was built on exactly that property, and so is most of what gets called lo-fi today.

Where it sits in a key

In a major key minor sevenths appear on the second, third and sixth degrees — Dm7, Em7 and Am7 in C major. The second degree is the strongest of the three because it leads to the dominant; the sixth is the one that sounds like a relative-minor home.

In a natural minor key the chord lands on the first, fourth and fifth degrees. A minor seventh as tonic — Cm7 in C minor — is a modern sound rather than a classical one: common practice would have wanted the plain triad, and the added seventh is what makes the same key sound like soul rather than symphony.

Minor seventh, minor major seventh, half-diminished

Three chords start from a minor triad and differ only in the note on top. Cm7 adds B♭ and stays calm. CmMaj7 adds B natural, and the semitone between B and C gives a tension the plain chord never has. Cm7♭5 flattens the fifth instead, turning the chord into the ii of a minor key.

Chord charts are usually careful here, but readers are not: m7 and mMaj7 differ by one accidental in print and by a great deal in sound. If a written chord seems suddenly harsh under a simple melody, this is the first thing to check.

Scales that contain it

Dorian and Aeolian both fit without alteration, and the choice between them is the choice of the sixth degree — raised in Dorian, lowered in Aeolian. Over a ii chord Dorian is the default; over a tonic minor seventh either works, and Dorian is what makes the chord sound modal rather than sad.

Phrygian fits too and colours the chord differently again, lowering the second degree. The minor pentatonic contains the whole chord and avoids all three disputed notes, which is why it never sounds wrong and rarely sounds specific.

Frequently asked questions