Sevenths
F minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
Fm7 is the ii7 chord in E♭ major, iii7 in D♭ major and vi7 in A♭ major. In minor keys: i7 in F minor and iv7 in C minor.
- Notes
- FA♭CE♭
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play Fm7
About the F minor 7th chord
Fm7 is the ii7 of E♭ major and the iv7 in C minor, giving minor-key songs a jazzy warmth.
Playing it
There’s no open-string way to play Fm7 on guitar with the root in the bass, so the standard shape is a barre across the 1st fret (131111).
On piano, Fm7 has two black keys (A♭ and E♭) and two white keys.
On ukulele the usual Fm7 shape is 1313, using four fingers.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form A♭ (A♭ C E♭) — so you can think of Fm7 as A♭ with F added underneath.
Fm7 contains exactly the same notes as A♭6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and Fm7 becomes a different chord: drop the E♭ for Fm, raise A♭ to A for F7, lower E♭ to D for Fm6 and swap A♭ for B♭ for F7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find Fm7 in common progressions such as Fm7–B♭7–E♭maj7 (the jazz cadence in E♭ major).
