# A Minor 7th piano chord (Am7)

Am7 contains A, C, E and G. A minor triad with the minor seventh added on top. Every note is a white key.

- Canonical page: https://piano.org/chords/minor-7th/a/
- Entity: chord:minor-7th:a
- Notes: A C E G
- Formula: 1 ♭3 5 ♭7
- Intervals from root: P1, m3, P5, m7
- Interval stack (semitones): 3 4 3
- Also written: Am7, Am7, A minor 7th
- Parameters: A440, 12-TET, 165 mm octave, spans centre to centre

## Construction

| Degree | Note | Interval from root | Semitones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | A | Perfect unison | 0 |
| ♭3 | C | Minor third | 3 |
| 5 | E | Perfect fifth | 7 |
| ♭7 | G | Minor seventh | 10 |

## Fingering

Rest your right hand over the notes with finger 1 on A, finger 2 on C, finger 3 on E, finger 5 on G. The left hand mirrors it.
Right hand 1-2-3-5, left hand 5-3-2-1. Source: piano.org fingering method v1.

## Inversions

| Position | Bass | Notes in order | Figured bass | Span |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root position | A | A3 C4 E4 G4 | 7 | 10 st, 138 mm |
| First inversion (Am7/C) | C | C4 E4 G4 A4 | 6/5 | 9 st, 124 mm |
| Second inversion (Am7/E) | E | E4 G4 A4 C5 | 4/3 | 8 st, 110 mm |
| Third inversion (Am7/G) | G | G4 A4 C5 E5 | 4/2 | 9 st, 124 mm |

## Voicings (10)

| Voicing | Notes | Span | Relation | Omits or adds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Close, root position | A3 C4 E4 G4 | 10 st, 138 mm | identical | none |
| Close, first inversion | C4 E4 G4 A4 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Close, second inversion | E4 G4 A4 C5 | 8 st, 110 mm | identical | none |
| Close, third inversion | G4 A4 C5 E5 | 9 st, 124 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 | E3 A3 C4 G4 | 15 st, 206 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 3 | C3 A3 E4 G4 | 19 st, 261 mm | identical | none |
| Drop 2 and 4 | A2 E3 C4 G4 | 22 st, 303 mm | identical | none |
| Shell, root ♭7 ♭3 | A2 G3 C4 | 15 st, 206 mm | subset | omits E |
| Guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 | C4 G4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits A and E |
| Rootless close | C4 E4 G4 | 7 st, 96 mm | subset | omits A |

## Diatonic function by key

| Key | Roman numeral | Function |
| --- | --- | --- |
| C major | vim7 | Tonic substitute |
| D minor | vm7 | Minor dominant |
| E minor | ivm7 | Subdominant |
| F major | iiim7 | Tonic substitute |
| G major | iim7 | Predominant |
| A minor | im7 | Tonic, home |

Classification system: common-practice functional harmony.

## Progressions (8)

| Progression | Key | Role | Sequence | Voice leading |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| vi, IV, I, V | C major | vim7 | Am7 to Fmaj7 to Cmaj7 to G7 | Am7 opens the phrase |
| I, vi | C major | vim7 | Cmaj7 to Am7 | 3 tones held from Cmaj7 |
| v, i | D minor | vm7 | Am7 to Dm7 | Am7 opens the phrase |
| ii, v, i | D minor | vm7 | Em7♭5 to Am7 to Dm7 | 2 tones held from Em7♭5 |
| iv, v, i | E minor | ivm7 | Am7 to Bm7 to Em7 | Am7 opens the phrase |
| i, iv | E minor | ivm7 | Em7 to Am7 | 2 tones held from Em7 |
| iii, vi, ii, V | F major | iiim7 | Am7 to Dm7 to Gm7 to C7 | Am7 opens the phrase |
| I, iii | F major | iiim7 | Fmaj7 to Am7 | 3 tones held from Fmaj7 |

## One-edit neighbors

| Becomes | Edit | Changes | Common tones |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Am9 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9 | adds B | 4 |
| Am | 1 ♭3 5 | drops G | 3 |
| A7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | C becomes C♯ | 3 |
| AmMaj7 | 1 ♭3 5 7 | G becomes G♯ | 3 |
| Am7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | E becomes E♭ | 3 |
| A7sus4 | 1 4 5 ♭7 | C becomes D | 3 |
| Am6 | 1 ♭3 5 6 | G becomes F♯ | 3 |
| A9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | C becomes C♯, B | 3 |
| A | 1 3 5 | C, G becomes C♯ | 2 |
| Adim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | E, G becomes E♭ | 2 |
| Asus2 | 1 2 5 | C, G becomes B | 2 |
| Asus4 | 1 4 5 | C, G becomes D | 2 |

## Set theory

- Absolute pitch classes: {9, 0, 4, 7}
- Relative pitch classes: [0, 3, 7, 10]
- Normal order: [4, 7, 9, 0]
- Prime form: (0358)
- Forte number: 4-26
- Interval vector: <012120>

## Frequencies (close root position)

| Note | MIDI | Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A3 | 57 | 220.00 Hz |
| C4 | 60 | 261.63 Hz |
| E4 | 64 | 329.63 Hz |
| G4 | 67 | 392.00 Hz |

## Questions and answers

### What notes are in Am7?

Am7 contains A, C, E and G. The formula is 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7.

### How do you play Am7 on piano?

Play A, C, E and G together. Right hand fingers 1, 2, 3, 5; left hand 5, 3, 2, 1. Every note is a white key.

### What are the inversions of Am7?

4 positions: root position A C E G, Am7/C, Am7/E, Am7/G.

### What keys contain Am7?

6: vim7 in C major, vm7 in D minor, ivm7 in E minor, iiim7 in F major, iim7 in G major, im7 in A minor.

### What is the difference between Am7 and Am9?

Adds B. 4 of the notes are shared.

### What is an easy Am7 for small hands?

The guide tones, ♭3 and ♭7 voicing, C4 G4, spans 7 semitones or about 96 mm.

### What are the frequencies of Am7?

From A3 at A440 in 12-TET: 220.00, 261.63, 329.63, 392.00 Hz.

### What is the set class of Am7?

Prime form (0358), Forte 4-26, interval vector &lt;012120&gt;.

### How do I transpose Am7 to another key?

Keep the 1, ♭3, 5, ♭7 formula on the new root. Cm7 is C, E♭, G, B♭; C♯m7 is C♯, E, G♯, B.

## Provenance

Every derived value above is computed by the piano.org theory kernel from the root, the quality and the stated parameters. Nothing is hand-entered per chord.

Machine record: https://piano.org/api/knowledge/v1/entities/chord:minor-7th:a
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12