Am7 guitar chord: 6 ways to play A minor 7th

Ways to play Am7

Open position first, then up the neck. Tap a shape to put it on the fretboard above and hear it. The numbers are fingers (1 is your index), × means leave that string out, and ○ means let it ring open.

What's in Am7

A minor 7th is a minor triad with a flat 7th on top: Am7 is A, C, E, G. On guitar it is often easier than the plain minor chord, because the 7th can come from an open string or frees up a finger.

Note	Formula	Interval from A
A	1	Root
C	♭3	Minor 3rd
E	5	Perfect 5th
G	♭7	Minor 7th

Mellower than a straight minor chord. It is the ii in the ii–V–I that jazz is built on, and the default minor chord in funk and R&B.

Keys that use Am7

Every major and minor key whose scale contains all of A, C, E and G, and the chord's Roman numeral in each.

Key	Am7 is the
A minor	i7
E minor	iv7
D minor	v7
G major	ii7
C major	vi7
F major	iii7

Progressions to try

ii7–V7–Imaj7 in G major

A minor 7th's most common job: the ii chord that sets up the V.

i7–iv7 in A minor

A two-chord minor vamp that funk and soul can sit on for a whole song.

Other chords on A:

See every chord in the library

Am7 chord